Flames rise from the open areas behind the house at 3448 Hidden Valley Road in Long Grove. Larry Shapiro photo

The Long Grove Fire Protection District responded to a field fire yesterday afternoon behind the house at 3448 Hidden Valley Road. The first unit found fire behind the house in a dried out marsh area with tall cattails. They called for additional assistance and then requested a structural response as a precautionary measure since there was concern that the winds could shift and threaten several homes.

The fire spreads through the cattails as seen from the home at 3448 Hidden Valley Road in Long Grove. Larry Shapiro photo

As the winds caused the fire to spread further, additional alarms were requested to assist the initial companies that were becoming overwhelmed by the size of the fire and the high heat conditions. The neighborhood is without hydrants, so a call was made for tankers in addition to wildland support from the Lake and McHenry County Wildland Team.

The fire travels towards homes to the east of the original point of origin. Larry Shapiro photo

Companies spread out both in the dried out marsh and in the yards of multiple homes along the long block that was threatened. Each home in this area has a large multi-acre lot.

Working ahead of the firefighters, several neighbors banded together with garden hoses to protect their homes until firefighters could address the fire in this yard. Larry Shapiro photo

Wheeling Squad 24 works the bumper turret of their all-wheel-drive unit in the rear of a home five down from the area of origin. Larry Shapiro photo

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department made an arrest before the night was over of an 18-year old male that was at the house were the fire began and charged him with starting the fire with some form of fireworks. One firefighter was transported to the hospital with heat exhaustion and was later released.

The fire grows in intensity behind a neighbor’s home down the block. Larry Shapiro photo

A member of the wildland team in the foreground joins a firefighter in structural gear along one edge of the fire. Larry Shapiro photo

After much of the fire had been extinguished or controlled behind this home, firefighters refill Wheeling’s squad as others survey the scene. Larry Shapiro photo

The last companies left the scene roughly seven hours after the incident began.

Mutual and auto aid at the scene was from Buffalo Grove, Palatine, Lake Zurich, Arlington Heights, Palatine Rural, Prospect Heights, Knollwood, Beach Park, Libertyville, Highwood, Barrington, Countryside, Fox Lake, Hoffman Estates, Beach Park, Deerfield, Fox River Grove, Wheeling, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods, Mundelein, Cary, McHenry Township, Grayslake, Newport Township, Wauconda, Gurnee, Spring Grove, Elk Grove Township, and the Nunda Rural FPD.

In all, 18 acres burned.

Larry Shapiro was at the scene and will have a gallery of images and a video later in the day.

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