Crews Work to Contain Shawnee Forest Blaze

WKMS | By The Associated Press,

Whitney Jones

Published April 9, 2013 at 7:20 AM CDT

Crews are working to contain a fire that has damaged at least 14 acres of the sprawling Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois.

U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Patricia York says at least one-quarter of the blaze is contained at Little Grand Canyon near Pomona, southwest of Carbondale, in Jackson County.

Authorities believe a person caused the fire. Law enforcement and fire investigators have are on the scene. The blaze began about a quarter-mile from the trailhead and about 20 feet off the trail.

York says the fire burned only national forest land, and the only structure threatened was a restroom shelter at the trailhead.

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Whitney Jones

Whitney grew up listening to Car Talk to and from her family’s beach vacation each year, but it wasn’t until a friend introduced her to This American Life that radio really grabbed her attention. She is a recent graduate from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where she studied journalism. When she’s not at WKMS, you can find her working on her backyard compost pile and garden, getting lost on her bicycle or crocheting one massive blanket.

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