Update: At 4 p.m. Tuesday, Yazoo County Emergency Management Director Jack Willingham said the fire is under control, and the current priority is ensuring that is doesn't flare up again.
Firefighters continued to hold back fire Tuesday morning amidst tornado ravaged woods on Old Benton Road after a house fire erupted early Monday morning.
Jack Willingham, Yazoo County Emergency Management director, said the cause of the house fire remains under investigation. But as of Tuesday morning, no other homes had been damaged after the fire spread over several acres of forest.
Firefighters worked throughout the day Monday and through the night to protect other homes.
The fire first erupted at 123 Halford Lane around 3 a.m. Monday.
“The embers from the house fire began to spread to a tornado ravaged area that was filled with dead wood,” Willingham said. “From there, the fire continued to spread in the area.”
Willingham said all Yazoo County volunteer fire departments, the Yazoo City Fire Department and the Mississippi Forestry Commission battled the fire to keep it from spreading to other structures in the area. Assistance from Madison, Gluckstadt and Warren County arrived Tuesday morning.
“Our main priority is to contain the fire,” Willingham said. “We also have fire trucks near other houses so we don’t lose any more structures.”
The firefighters have been working in shifts around the clock. Willingham said their hard work should be commended.
“Everybody has really come together to do what needs to be done,” he said. “They have really worked hard to do their job.”
