Following a fire that caused extensive damage, Wilmette fire department officials are urging residents to be careful about cleaning up seeds from cottonwood trees, which they believe can easily serve as an accelerant to flames.
The fire department on Friday received a call that a fence near a home in the 500 block of Ridge Road was ablaze. Upon getting to the scene, firefighters discovered the fire quickly spread to a detached three-car garage, according to Chief Benjamin Wozney.
The fire department believes the fire started when a resident attempted to light a charcoal grill and an ember from the grill fell to the ground, sparking the scattered cottonweed seeds, which are white and resemble snow. They estimated the fire travelled 257 feet from the first property, through the yard of a second home, into an alley and then lit the garage.
“I’ve never had it happen in my 23 years that we’ve had a fire started this way,” Wozney said.
Total damage to the property was an estimated $105,000.
No one was injured and the incident was deemed an accident, Wozney said.
Fire department officials stress that homeowners should collect the cottonwood seeds for disposal as they can easily lead to large fires.
“The big takeaway is if people are outside or if they have a fire pit, they need to clean up the cottonwood seeds,” Duty Chief Jim Bentz said. “Before you ignite something, you should blow them away.”
