At 3:16 p.m., on Sunday, March 30, Prince George’s County Fire Department (PGFD) responded to a large brush fire reported to be outside 162 Research Road, one of the homes on Research Road that back onto the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center’s (BARC) fields and the woods there. Residents reported the fire was spreading in fields behind Greenbelt Elementary School (GES), through BARC and toward Powder Mill Road. Fire department responders set up a large staging area at GES on Ridge Road. Firefighters also cut a hole in the fence between Greenbelt Homes, Inc. (GHI) and BARC property to access the fire and ran hoses along the fence on the GHI side to another access point. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services, as well as U.S. Park Police and Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forestry Services joined PGFD in their response.
The first fire in the area behind the school actually occurred Saturday, March 29. A resident on Laurel Hill Road called in the fire between 8 and 9 p.m. when it was visible from their second-story window. The fire department responded and worked in the area for a while Saturday evening, reported residents. Then, the large brush fire in the same area broke out at approximately 3:16 p.m. the following day.
On Sunday afternoon, residents noted significant smoke, particularly along Research Road, Ridge Road and Laurel Hill Road. Helicopters and numerous emergency services vehicles responded to the fire that afternoon.
At 9:17 p.m. on Sunday evening, PGFD reported that the fire was contained and nearly extinguished and units were leaving the scene, with crews remaining to check for hot spots. DNR personnel remained on the scene overnight. There were no injuries and the fire didn’t extend to homes or structures, they said via a social media post. It’s estimated the fire spread over 10 acres.
Smoldering and Flames Continued
On Monday morning, March 31, resident Jeff Lemieux was walking his dogs near the burned area on BARC and noticed several smoldering logs re-ignite. He called 911 and told the News Review that it took 30 minutes from his call until the first engine responded, which was a College Park engine (see his letter to the editor this week). Other residents similarly reported smoldering and flames, which they captured on video on Monday.
The News Review reached out to PGFD on Monday and Tuesday with a request for comment and questions about any indication of a cause of the fire and about the response to it. They did not respond by press time.
