Prescribed burn gets out of control

A rainy spring day means fire fighters can rest without fear of wildfire. But, on a windy day yesterday, that wasn’t the case in rural Oconee County. A landowner’s prescribed burn went out of control on Busch Creek Road near the Coffee Road and that’s the reason those between Walhalla and Westminster late yesterday afternoon could spot a smoky sky. According to Chief Doug Kelley of the Walhalla Fire Department, the property owner intended to burn 15 acres. The wind, however, spread the fire to an additional five acres before fire fighters and other responders were able to put it a stop to it.