Wildfire — Wayne, Missouri

2025-03-14 to 2025-03-16 · Wayne, Missouri

Event narrative

The Persimmon Ridge Fire, located about 4 miles southeast of Piedmont in the Mark Twain National Forest, was reported by personnel from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Fanned by south southeast winds gusting 35-50mph through the evening, the fire consumed 93.1 acres before being fully extinguished. In addition to the strong winds, the response to the fire was complicated by a series of tornadic storms that swept through southeast Missouri in the late evening. One deadly EF-3 tornado passed just a mile northwest of the fire.

Wider weather episode

A vigorous storm system over the central Plains, with a sub 980mb surface low over Kansas, induced a very strong pressure gradient across southeast Missouri. The result was strong south southeast winds through the afternoon and evening. Gusts 35-50 mph were common for much of the period, but the winds increased in the late evening. Perryville Regional Airport (KPCD) gusted 56 mph and Cape Girardeau Regional Airport gusted to 61 mph. The strong winds resulted in power outages in Bollinger County and Butler County and allowed two wildfires, one southeast of Piedmont and another just northeast of Fremont, to grow rapidly out of control in the evening. Each of the fires consumed over 90 acres of the Mark Twain National Forest.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1247766. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.