Fire burns area of woods at Juden Creek

The Cape Girardeau and East County fire departments spent about two hours Tuesday putting out a fire that burned a large area of forest at the Juden Creek Conservation Area. Cape Girardeau Fire Department chief Rick Ennis said an area of forest roughly 1,200 feet by 1,000 feet was burned at the conservation area, just off Highway 177 a short distance from the Cape Girardeau city limits. It was unclear what had started the fire, Ennis said. Firefighters had to use the conservation area's trail system to access the burning area of the forest with the equipment they needed to extinguish the blaze, since firetrucks couldn't reach the area, Ennis said. The two fire departments used specially fitted all-terrain vehicles to attack the fire. No injuries were reported.