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Crews respond to small overnight fire in Cooper County

COOPER COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Firefighters contained another fire early Monday morning near the Interstate 70 bridge over the Missouri River.

An ABC 17 News crew saw the small fire from the bridge in Cooper County around 4:15 a.m. There were no reports of injuries, according to the Boone County Fire Protection District.

Over the weekend, crews responded to a large fire in Cooper County that burned between 3,000 to 3,500 acres of land, including parts of Wooldridge.

Families are now working to recover from the fire and figure out what's next.

The American Red of Central and Northern Missouri established a shelter for victims at the Open Bible Praise Center in Boonville. The shelter opened Sunday to at least nine families and is scheduled to close Monday at 10 a.m.

Officials estimate the fire destroyed or damaged nearly two dozen buildings. Strong winds and low humidity helped the fire spread to the structures and to land belonging to the Big Muddy Fish and Wildlife Reserve.

Crews closed parts of I-70 in Cooper County for nearly two hours Saturday due to heavy smoke in the area. Emergency responders from across Missouri responded to the Wooldridge area to fight the fire.

Wooldridge resident Jessica McComb says she was working to improve her properties for her tenants but the fire set those plans back.

"The financial toll we just took was at least $80,000, at least," said McComb. "Now I have two displaced families and I'm really concerned about that. I had a family move in here because it was getting ready to be done and I had a family move in there. Both of them were supposed to be here this December, now during Christmas time, they're displaced."

Wooldridge Mayor Kelly Murphy told ABC 17 News over the weekend she is working to speak with other officials about what steps to take next.

Donations to those affected by the fire can be through the Red Cross website, calling 1-800-RED-CROSS, or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Firefighters could get a break from the weather conditions that helped fuel the fire over the weekend. The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather is tracking the chance for rain Monday and Tuesday.

Some areas could see between 1 to 3 inches of rain before showers move out of Mid-Missouri on Wednesday.

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Joushua Blount

Joushua Blount hails from Cleveland, Ohio and has a bachelor’s degree in media communications from the University of Toledo. He also has a master’s degree from the University Of Alabama. Roll Tide!

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