DEERWALK - Officials from four area fire departments extinguished a brush fire Tuesday that burned 15 acres of land in Wood County.

Reports of a brush fire at the intersection of Riser Ridge Road and White Oak Run Road reached fire officials around 8 a.m. Deerwalk, Eastwood, Lubeck and Waverly volunteer fire departments as well as the West Virginia Division of Forestry battled the fire for nearly three hours Tuesday.

"Brush fires are difficult," said Deerwalk fire Chief Kim Marshall. "They cover a lot of area, and they are ever-expanding fires, which means they're much harder to control than structure fires. The main thing is, you have to have enough manpower and equipment to surround and contain it."

Firefighters were armed with leaf blowers, chainsaws and hand tools to cut through the rough terrain. "Indian packs," portable water tanks fastened to the backs of firefighters, also were used.

"We had about 40 guys out there today," he said. "First we determined the scope of the fire, and then we came up with a plan to surround it and extinguish it from the outside in."

The Smokey Bear fire danger warning level remained at "moderate" today, but if the dry weather continues for a few more days, the level will increase, said Marshall.

"I'm sure the lack of moisture helped fuel the fire today," he said. "The woods were very, very dry. We haven't seen rain in this area for quite a while."

No homes were destroyed in the blaze, but the American Red Cross was on scene providing food and water to the firefighters.

Marshall said officials are still investigating the cause.

"It could have been a number of things. There was just no way to determine how it started today."