A Conway County swamp fire rekindled Thursday night, covering roughly 60 acres north of Interstate 40, according to firefighters.

The swamp fire is located between Morrliton and Blackwell. Blackwell Fire Department Chief Brandon Baker said the fire started late Sunday as a result of lightning hitting the area from a storm system. 

Baker said a citizen who owns the property called the fire department on Monday because the person saw several fires. Baker said it was difficult to get to the flames because the area used to be swampland, but the recent drought has dried it out and made it extremely flammable. The department then called the Arkansas Forestry Commission to the scene. 

"They sent a bulldozer and circled what’s called a fire line around the fire,” Baker said. “This means they dug down the dirt. So hopefully if the fire progressed and it hit the dirt, it would burn out and not go away."

The chief said that since Monday, the department and the agency have repeatedly tamed the fire, but high winds cause it to engulf the area again. 

He said there aren’t any people in danger. 

"There's about three to four houses within a mile of the fire. We’re not concerned with them now because that's not the direction the fire’s moving.”

Unless the county receives a lot of rain, Baker predicts this will continue for several days.

“The Arkansas Forestry Commission is on site monitoring the fire,” the chief said.

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