Submitted Photo Bowbells Fire Department crews keep watch in the aftermath of a grass fire in a ditch next to a gravel road caused by a spark from a motor grader Wednesday afternoon southwest of Bowbells.

BOWBELLS – A grass fire southwest of Bowbells on Wednesday has led Burke County fire departments and county commissioners to ask the public to restrict off-road travel and other activities.

According to the Bowbells Fire Department, firefighters were dispatched shortly before 4 p.m. for a reported grass fire, which was determined to have started from a spark from an operating motor grader scraping a rock on a gravel road. The information said low humidity, dead vegetation and high wind forecasts increased the possibility for fast-spreading wildfires in the area.

“We are in a very high fire index today and we don’t foresee that getting any less throughout the week. If you see or smell smoke, call 911 immediately. The faster the response the better,” according to the information.