Grass Fire Reported Near Westbound Interstate

Passersby reported a grass fire threatening a power pole on the south side of Cottage Grove Road just off of westbound I90 Monday.
 
When Engine 5 arrived on scene, they found a 50-foot by 20-foot area of burning grass, and the fire was spreading mainly to the east.
 
Fortunately there were no exposed electrical wires, blown fuses or damaged transformers.
 
Firefighters pulled a hose and put out the fire. What remained was superficial damage to some plastic conduit on the pole and to some plastic that protected the pole’s guide wires.
 
One witness who reported the fire said he didn’t observe any suspicious activity prior to the fire. The Dane County 911 Communications Center did advise there were several electrical outages in the area, particularly east of the grass fire.
 
MG&E was advised to come out to the scene where the fire had occurred to check on the damaged pole.