High winds combined with burning rubbish were the likely cause of a Wednesday afternoon garage fire on the west side of the Bethel Village subdivision south of Columbus.
Firefighters from five departments responded to the 3:50 p.m. fire at the residence of Stanley D. Bishop, 5566 Denois St., said Rick Trimpe, Wayne Township fire chief.
While firefighters were on the scene for more than an hour-and-a-half battling the flames that destroyed a two-car, detached garage, no one was injured, Columbus Township Fire Chief Dave Thompson said.
Damage to the garage was estimated at $20,000, with another $15,000 in damages to a car parked inside the structure, Trimpe said.
Firefighters had been summoned to the Bishop residence earlier in the day after burning rubbish got out of control, resulted in a grass fire, Trimpe said.
While the fire chief said there was no sign of anything still burning after the grass fire was extinguished, it appears something ablaze was blown by the winds onto the garage that got under the siding and ignited the fire, Trimpe said.
High winds also hampered the late afternoon efforts of Wayne and Columbus Township firefighters, who were assisted by units from Southwest, Elizabethtown and Harrison Township, Trimpe said.
