Brushfire burns 30 acres west of Ellettsville

November 9, 2020; Gosport, Indiana: A brush fire burned at least 30 acres including 15 acres of a cornfield Monday afternoon along Bank Road West Ellettsville, Indiana. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)

Firefighters responded to a 30-acre brushfire Monday afternoon west of Ellettsville in the 8600 block of W. Bank Road in Gosport.

The fire began before 2:37 p.m. according to Ellettsville Fire Department Chief Mike Cornman. The fire is currently under investigation but Cornman said firefighters suspect it began near Reeves Road during open burn. Corn, soybeans, open field, and woods on four different properties were burned.

Ellettsville Firefighters received mutual aid from Bean Blossom, Owen Valley, Clay Township, and Van Buren fire departments. Firefighters fought the fire for about an hour with 17 firefighters on the scene.

Cornman said there were no red flag conditions Monday and that brush fires in November are not unusual.

Residents near the cornfields damaged in the fire said that about 15 acres of crop had burned, and the flames were about 30 feet tall. The fire moved from an open field into a cornfield, and the flames grew in a matter of seconds.

The fire was within 30 feet of a house, and the corn in the field was going to be harvested next week.