High winds and low humidity kept firefighters busy last week, battling several different brush fires near Guinea. The largest of these fires, which burned over 200 acres, occurred last Wednesday afternoon, March 30, near Horse Point Road and Guinea Circle.

According to Abingdon Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad spokesperson Robert Parlett, this fire was called in just after 2 p.m. while firefighters were refueling after battling another blaze earlier in the day near Maundy’s Creek Road. “We still had a lot of firefighters at the station, so we were able to get out there a lot quicker than if they responded from home, and the fire was able to make less headway,” he said.

Both fires that day threatened a number of structures, he said, so firefighters made it a priority to do everything they could to keep the fires contained to the wooded areas and away from buildings. In the end, he said only one shed was burned on Everetts Lane in the larger fire and some vinyl siding ...