- Previous story: Milan woman dies after brush fires burn out of control
The 76-year-old Milan area woman who died in a brush fire Wednesday afternoon was trapped by a six-foot tall wire fence on her brother's property, police said Thursday.
The woman, identified by the Associated Press as Anna Elvira Pinto, was helping to clear debris from property owned by her brother and sister-in-law, who helped until they left for work, said Detective Joseph Hammond of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
"They were out there raking leaves into piles and burning them," Hammond said, adding that neighbors told police this is something often done on the property.
Officials described the area where Pinto was working as densely wooded, with a six-foot tall wire fence.
Just before 3 p.m., winds blew three brush pile fires out of control, said Milan Area Fire Department Chief Robert Stevens. The fire spread. Pinto was trapped between the fire and the fence, Hammond said.
Fire crews were dispatched to the rural London Township residence in the 1000 block of Darling Road near Tuttle Hill Road at 3:04 p.m. after a passerby called 911 about smoke coming from the woods, officials said.
About five acres were on fire and smoking, police said.
"It had spread onto other people's properties," Hammond said, though no buildings were damaged.
Milan fire, accompanied by the Augusta Township and London Maybee Raisinville fire departments, fought the blaze until about 6 p.m. The dense woods made it impossible to use a brush truck, Stevens said.
A Milan firefighter discovered the woman's body while crews worked on putting out hot spots, officials said.
Hammond said the woman was burned, but the cause of death was immediately unknown. An autopsy is being performed to see if smoke inhalation played a role.
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