'Large fires' reported in Alsip after NWS issues Red Flag Warning

ALSIP (Sun-Times Media Wire) - Crews were fighting several fires Tuesday afternoon in south suburban Alsip after forecasters warned weather conditions could lead to particularly dangerous fires.

Firefighters were battling “multiple large fires” along train tracks in Alsip, according to a post on the Alsip Fire Department’s Facebook page at 12:25 p.m. The fires “involved many businesses and homes.”

Homes along Joalyce Drive from 115th Street to 119th Street Street were being evacuated Tuesday afternoon. The fire had spread over Stony Creek and was moving northwest by about 1:40 p.m.

The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning in effect until 7 p.m. Tuesday, warning that a combination of strong winds, dry conditions and warm temperatures could “promote extremely dangerous behavior of any fires.”

The warning is in effect for northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana, according to the weather service. South winds could reach up to 20 mph, with gusts up to 30 mph.