Crews find source of grass fire near Farmington underneath solar panels

RURAL FARMINGTON (25News Now) -Firefighters found the unusual source of a grass fire Friday afternoon near Farmington, and they didn’t use water to put out the flames.

The fire, called in about 2:45 p.m., was underneath solar panels on Route 116, about a quarter mile west of Farmington.

The Farmington Community Fire Protection District said on its Facebook page that an inverter panel was burning. Fire department photos show the inverter, a key component of the electricity-producing solar array, was severely damaged.

The solar panels had to be de-energized, and crews had to use a dry chemical extinguisher to put out the fire.

A dollar estimate of the damage was not available.