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Prayers answered in work of volunteers

Fortune has smiled on northeast Wyandot County.

The fire &emdash; apparently arson &emdash; that sent hundreds of thousands of old tires up in smoke last weekend can only be viewed as misfortune.

The extent of harm to the environment will not be known for a long time. Hundreds of thousands of dollars already have been spent on the firefighting and containment efforts. A long-term solution for the disposal of the tires has yet to be determined.

But the huge fire &emdash; and all the heat and toxic fumes and runoff it generated &emdash; did not kill anyone.

The giant firefighting effort, which was spearheaded by hundreds of local volunteers, could have been tragic as well as heroic.

With drivers of hundreds of vehicles hurrying to get sand to cover the fire, equipment to fight it and to ferry food and supplies to those working at the scene, a fatal crash could have occurred.

Prayers were answered and no lives were lost.

The federal officials in charge of the site can breathe a sigh of relief and get on with determining permanent plans for the now-buried tires.

Whoever set the fire also should be saying a prayer ... of thanks.

All the wonderful people who jumped in, limited the fire, then got it under control and who minimized dangers to the surrounding countryside can add another accomplishment to their list. They did it safely.

The rest of us not only are grateful, we're delighted they're back home ... in one piece.

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