7-Hour Fire Burns 45 Acres At McCormick Ravine In Lake Forest

LAKE FOREST, IL — Firefighters battled a fire that burned for over seven hours Monday across more than 45 acres of wildland in southeast Lake Forest, according to the Lake Forest Fire Department.

Dispatchers first received a call of smoke in the area of McCormick Ravine shortly before noon, with firefighters aboard the first engine arriving in the nearby Villa Turicum subdivision and discovering a large amount of smoke coming from an active brush fire to the south.

Fire crews got help from a specialized wildland fire response team and more than 40 personnel from at least 16 surrounding departments, according to a statement from Division Chief Mike Gallo.

The fire was brought under control and extinguished at 7 p.m. without damaging any nearby homes. No rescue personnel or residents were injured by the fire, according to Gallo. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

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The fire comes four years after a $3.5 million restoration project at the 61-acre McCormick Ravine funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration Program, with the required matching funding provided by the Lake Forest Open Lands Association.

John Sentell, president of Lake Forest Open Lands, praised the efforts of fire crews from throughout the region who responded to the fire.

"For those who live in our community, please know that Lake Forest Open Lands was not conducting any controlled burns today," Sentell said in a statement. "This was a wildland fire of an undetermined nature that is being investigated at this time. We are relieved that no one was injured and the quick action of fire crews protected homes in the area during these very dry conditions."