Sandy Ridge’s 800-acre fire started out as a scheduled burn that spiraled out of control

Several Centre and Clearfield county fire companies responded Wednesday to a prescribed burn that got severely out of control.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission had planned a controlled burn for 100 acres of forest on Sandy Ridge mountain, but called local fire companies to help with containment after losing control of the fire. Mountain Top Fire Company, Snow Shoe Fire Company and Philipsburg fire companies were called at about 1:43 p.m. Wednesday. Clearfield County fire companies including Chester Hill and Houtzdale also responded.

According to Mountain Top Fire Company assistant chief and fire warden Travis Beres, firefighters assisted until about 9:50 p.m. when the fire was mostly contained.

About 800 acres were burned, making it the largest forest fire Beres has seen.

“It’s a big fire for East Coast places,” Beres said. “On the West Coast, this is nothing new but here this is a fairly big deal.”

Several hot spots were still active Thursday but were expected to burn themselves or be put out by Friday’s expected rain, Beres said. Smoke will be visible in the area for the next few days but residents should call 911 if any live flames are spotted.

A crew from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Game Commission is keeping watch over the area.