Osage Beach Firefighters Taxed Battling Large Deep-Seated Natural Cover Fire

If you noticed a bunch of smoke around Red Bud Road in Osage Beach early Thursday night and at least most of the day on Friday you weren’t alone.

Fire Chief Paul Berardi says crews responded to a deep-seated natural cover fire involving a large leaf pile located on a steep hillside.

Upon arrival, the fire was found to be primarily burning beneath the surface of a debris field making full extinguishment challenging and labor-intensive.

Personnel remained on the scene overnight before securing the area Friday morning and then going back a couple hours later to continue suppression efforts.

A nearby business owner hired the use of large excavating equipment to help in the efforts by exposing hot spots for firefighters to reach.

Nearby businesses and residents also reported having to deal with the smoke and ash from the fire and, as of 4-PM on Friday, fire crews remained on the scene.

Fortunately, as of that time, there had been no reports of any injuries or structures being damaged.