GREENE COUNTY
You don’t see a cattle drive in Greene County often, but Greene County deputies, fire and rescue personnel, and local cattlemen turned out to round up cows that were released onto I-20 on the afternoon of Oct. 24 as a result of a truck fire.
According to Greene County Sheriff Donnie Harrison and EMA Director Joe Bashore, the fire appears to have started near the rear axle and the braking system of the tractor-trailer.
When the truck driver realized what was happening, he tried to get the cows out of the trailer and save them from the fire.
He was largely successful, but a few of the animals were killed.
Bashore said about 75 percent of the cows released from the burning trailer were rounded up quickly, but some made it into the wood line on the eastbound side of the interstate.
Local cattlemen and cowboys on horseback rounded up the cattle and took them to a makeshift coral set up to keep the cattle while the roundup was ongoing.
The interstate was shut down for several hours, but one lane was eventually opened so traffic could proceed eastbound.
By 5 p.m., the incident had been cleared, and I-20 was open.
Neighborhood farms were searched by a posse of those trying to round up the cattle.
Harrison said fences nearby kept the cattle from venturing over the westbound side of the interstate which kept most of the animals in areas near the original incident.
In an ironic turn, Bashore said his department had been scheduled to undergo a training exercise in a couple of weeks that was a precursor to the exact scenario his personnel experienced during the incident.
Harrison said motorists were unhappy with the delays, but nothing could be done about it under the circumstances.
To make matters even worse for drivers, a truck appears to have run off the interstate near Siloam at about the same time, snarling traffic even more.