DORCHESTER CO. -- State and local firefighters in Dorchester County battled a marsh fire near the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge Monday afternoon.
Officials said the fire began around noon and was one hundred percent contained by 6 p.m. According to officials, the fire is presumed to have burned anywhere from one to two thousand acres. Some neighbors WBOC spoke with Tuesday said they were still on edge from the fire.
Katlin Oberender lives off Robbin's road. Oberender said the fire went directly up to the edge of her backyard.
"Coming over the bridge it was just a mushroom cloud," Oberender said. "We really didn't know if we had a home or from the sky and all of the images."
Oberender said fire crews left hoses in her yard in case things flare up again.
"It's just been scary. The fires have been coming up all night long, off and on," Oberender said.
Maryland DNR Fire Specialist Gilbert Wagner said seventeen houses and one church were threatened by the fire. Wagner said the fire was one hundred percent contained before any structures were damaged.
"Today our primary objective is to secure the houses," Wagner said. "Make sure the fire is gonna stay where it is and stay contained."
Officials said the cause of the fire is still under investigation but is believed to be accidental. Wagner said weather conditions likely played a part.
"We never really recovered from the fall drought," Wagner said. "So we're finding the fires are spreading across ditches and stuff like that that would normally contain the fire."
Wagner said they're hopeful tomorrow's forecasted rain will help cool things off.
Officials said crews will continue to monitor the burn and put out any lingering embers. According to Wagner, completely putting the fire out could take anywhere from a couple of days to around a week, depending on conditions.