Vehicle-ignited fire kills Ohio woman

Two fires have hit Hill County this week, with one resulting in the death of an Ohio woman.

Pauline H. Siegel of Powell, Ohio, 58, died Tuesday when the vehicle she was riding in sparked a grassland fire about 20 miles north of Gildford that then engulfed the vehicle.

Hill County Sheriff Jamie Ross said they are investigating what caused the SUV to ignite the fires and why the woman was unable to escape when three others in the car were.

The Hill County Sheriff’s office received a call reporting the fire Tuesday at 4:02 p.m., a release about the fire said. When deputies arrived on the scene they found a vehicle that had been fully engulfed and found Siegel’s body, The release said.

The vehicle had been driving on a grass-covered road and ignited a series of grass fires that then spread to the vehicle.

“The female got out of the vehicle but was unable to escape the grass fire surrounding the area,” the release says, adding she “was overcome by the smoke and fire and died on the scene.”

Wildhorse Rural Fire Department Chief Shawn Rismon said this morning the fire burned about 1,000 to 1,200 acres, most of which was pasture land, but did include some property including two hay swathers.

The release reports there were three other people in the car, one of whom tried to help the woman escape and was taken to be treated for injuries at Northern Montana Hospital afterward. The two other occupants were unharmed, the release says.

The investigation is ongoing, Ross said.

A smaller fire was ignited near the former U.S. Air Force base north of Havre an hour or two before the first fire.

Rismon said that fire burned about 250 acres. The Wildhorse fire department went from one fire to the other.

The Air Force base fire had encroached on the property of the former base and charred an old cinder block building and some water slides. People had been evacuated in time and no one was hurt, Rismon said.

The base was decommissioned decades ago and is now privately owned.

The origin of the fire is unclear, but Rismon added it might have been started by the exhaust of a pickup truck or four-wheeler riding on the grass.

“Exhaust is a big reason not to stop in the grass,” he said.

Both fires have been put out.