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More than 100 acres burned in a brush fire that erupted Sunday in Island Lake and sent thick black smoke billowing into the sky.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. The fire did not start out as a controlled burn, officials said.
The Wauconda Fire District said in a news release late Sunday it had been called out to the intersection of Route 176 and Bassler Drive in Island Lake about 5:34 p.m. Sunday.
Crews observed a “large plume of heavy black smoke” in transit and arrived within three minutes to find a “significant active fire” in a field in the McHenry County Conservation District jurisdiction, according to the release.
Firefighters immediately upgraded the fire to a grass fire to bring more resources to the scene. At 5:43 p.m. Sunday, crews upgraded to a first alarm brush fire box and later requested the Lake and McHenry County Wildland Team to the scene, according to the release.
No civilians or firefighters were hurt, and surrounding neighborhoods were not found to have any damage, according to the release.
The fire was fully contained by 7:30 p.m. Sunday, though the wildland team stayed on site to “address dead trees in the area,” according to the release. The department estimated more than 100 acres “were involved in the fire.”
The Wauconda Fire District confirmed Sunday evening on Facebook that it was working on a brush fire that “has been elevated to a box alarm” and said nobody needed to evacuate.
Wauconda Fire District investigators are investigating the cause of the fire, which “remains undetermined,” according to the release.
The conservation district released a statement saying the fire occurred in the Cotton Creek Marsh and that there was no reported damage to “personal property.”
“The Conservation District is assisting local fire and police as they investigate the cause of the fire. No controlled burns by District staff or Volunteers were scheduled for Sunday, and the source of the fire remains unknown at this time,” the district said.