About 1,500 Acres of Mark Twain National Forest Burn in Taney County

TANEY COUNTY, Mo. -- Firefighters from all over the Midwest are in Missouri fighting a series of three wildfires in the Mark Twain National Forest.

There are three separate fires burning in the wilderness that takes up most of the southern third of the state of Missouri.

National Forest Service spokesperson Becky Bryan says fighting fires in this weather is brutal work.

"We want to make sure that our firefighters drink plenty of water, pace themselves and stay as cool as they can which is very difficult when it's 105."

Bryan says most of the fires have been contained. The largest fire is in southeast TaneyCounty, where about 1,500 acres are burning.

And large fires continue in Christian and ReynoldCounty as well.

Bill Paxton, also with the National Forest Service, says the fires are feeding on wood and undergrowth with only four percent moisture content.

"When you buy lumber at Lowe's, or Home Depot, that lumber is 12 percent. That's kiln dried lumber. So this is drier than kiln dried lumber."

Paxton says the fires are not only burning fast, they're burning hot.

And with air temperatures pushing 110 degrees, it's extremely hard for firefighters to work for sustained periods of time without rest.

See Also:
Update: Wildfire Mostly Contained in Garrison MO
Web Extra: Aerial Video of Mark Twain National Forest Fire