The West Virginia Division of Forestry is investigating the cause of a brush fire that broke out Thursday and took firefighters more than five hours to put out, officials said.
Jason Jones, a fire forester supervisor with the state Division of Forestry, said the brush fire ravaged approximately 75 acres in the Sugar Grove Road area between Huttonsville and Pickens.
Jones said that officials began battling the blazes around noon and had managed to contain the fire by 5:30 p.m. - shortly before rainstorms swept through the area.
"We had already got all the work done, then of course the rain hit," Jones said Friday. "That helped, though."
Jones said the cause of the fire is still under investigation. He said it's likely the weather wasn't a factor.
"I haven't ruled it (weather) out 100 percent yet, but I probably will," Jones said.
The Mill Creek, Valley Head and Elkins volunteer fire departments and other Randolph County fire departments responded to the scene, officials said.
No further information was available as of presstime Friday.
