More than 500 acres burn in Camden County, Mo. wildfires

MACKS CREEK, Mo. – Around two dozen structures and hundreds of acres burned Friday afternoon in Camden County after several wind-driven wildfires crossed highways and charred dried-up vegetation.

The Southwest Camden County Fire Protection District said they responded to a multi-fire event, all happening around the same time Friday afternoon. 

More than 500 acres burned, with fire officials saying perhaps as many as 25 structures were damaged or, in many cases, destroyed. Officials say they are still assessing the region for damage. 

There were no reports of injuries. 

Weather conditions were primed for fires to spread rapidly. Even though thunderstorms were approaching Friday evening, relative humidity remained low. With low moisture content in the air, dried-up ground conditions like leaves and other combustibles mixed with gusty winds, the stage was set. 

FOX 2 arrived Friday evening before a line of powerful thunderstorms rolled through the area. Blackened grass was noticeable on both sides of U.S. Highway 54. There properties that had either lost every last sign of vegetation next to untouched, beige-looking plots of grass. 

Seemingly made to withstand the test of rigidness, a historic-looking train car was still burning on a large property that had already been completely inundated by fire. 

Smoke filled the fields north of Macks Creek as if it was the aftermath of a battle. Some residents were told to flee with barely a moment’s notice. 

As bad as it got, firefighters say they were thankful for that deluge of rainfall.

“The rain helped to stop some of the fires and slow them down enough for us to get ahead of them,” the Southwest Camden County Fire Protection district said in a news release Saturday afternoon. 

Leading up to that line of strong storms, it was extremely windy. Weather data from the Camdenton showed sustained winds over 20 miles per hour, through much of the day, before strengthening in the afternoon with winds gusting well over 40 miles per hour.

Fire officials say while the investigation into the multiple fires is underway, there is a common theme to each of them: Wind. Officials say a majority of fires started from winds knocking powerlines down.

The Camden County Commission has also declared a state of emergency because of the widespread nature of the fires.

Firefighters were called out for mutual aid with surrounding districts and counties rushing to fight one fire while protecting property from another. In addition to the four main fires, others started to flare up as drifting embers flared up new fires.  

“While out with these major fires we were dispatched to, approximately 10 other natural cover fires or smoke investigations all stemming from these fires,” their statement read.

Additional agencies that responded included Prairie Grove, Dunnegan, Humansville, Northwest, Gravois, Pleasant Hope, Bolivar, Central Polk, Preston, Hickory County, Mid-County, Missouri Dept. of Conservation, Camden County Sheriff’s Department, Camden County Emergency Management and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.