Evacuations issued, air drops used in Coal Township as firefighters battle wildfire
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Firefighters from across the Lower Anthracite Region battle a brush fire in Coal Township on April 14, 2023.
SPRINGFIELD, Northumberland County – More than two dozen homes were evacuated and two airplanes dropped flame retardant as flames burned on a hillside near Shamokin Friday.
Firefighters were first called to the Springfield section of Coal Township around midday for a reported vehicle fire in the woodlands.
That fire spread to the nearby brush and grew out of control, consuming a large area of woodlands and abandoned mine lands south of Springfield near the Shamokin Creek.
The fire encroached upon cemeteries in the area as well.
Crews from across lower Northumberland County, as well as forestry crews from as far as Saint Clair were brought to the scene, as were two airplanes from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Those airplanes dumped flame retardant on the area multiple times, at one point covering an Area Service ambulance.
Just before 6pm, Coal Township Police alerted residents either face-to-face or via loudspeaker that both sides of Pulaski Avenue, as well as Thomas and Meade Streets south of Pulaski, were being evacuated as crews feared the fire would spread in that direction.
As of 7pm, firefighters remain on scene.
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