The Lake County Sheriff’s Office says a brush fire was put out on Wednesday afternoon.
Sometime around 1 p.m. Gary first responders requested the assistance of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department Aviation Unit in fighting a large brush fire, Chief Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “It seems dry, windy conditions allowed the flames to spread across an area just off US-12 between the Gary/Chicago International Airport and Buffington Harbor,” Martinez stated.
A Lake County helicopter equipped with a Bambi bucket made numerous trips to Lake Michigan to fill the bucket and drop water onto the flames.
“The fire came dangerously close to the Praxair natural gas facility,” Martinez said. “There have been no reported injuries.”
Lake County pilots completed their mission just before 5 p.m.
“To the best of our knowledge at this time, the origin of the fire is still under investigation,” Martinez said.