Travellers on Interstate 10 saw brush fires the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 16. According to fire officials, no major damage was done by the blazes, which may have been sparked by towing apparatus dragging on the roadway.

“We had fires in Escambia (Fla.) to the 53 exit,” said Dewayne Bowden, Assistant Chief of the Rosinton Volunteer Fire Department.

Fortunately, Bowden said, the fire was limited to grass and brush, and appeared to spare the pine trees along the road.

“We were able to knock the fires down pretty fast,” said Bowden, adding that units from the Styx River Volunteer Fire Department assisted in putting out the fires in Alabama. The fires, which witnesses say had flames around 60 feet in the air, did not cause difficulties for traffic on the Interstate, he said.

“This is the season for fires,” said one of the RVFD firefighters. “It is dry and people are doing yard clean up.”

“Burn bans” will go into effect later in the year.

“The best thing to do is to be careful and keep your cigarette butts in the car,” said Bowden.