Brush fire burns near University of Maryland, College Park

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Authorities say a brush fire is burning near the University of Maryland’s flagship campus.

Prince George’s County Fire spokesman Mark Brady tells news outlets that the Friday afternoon brush fire spanned several acres and was spreading in College Park. The department had units on scene to protect homes in the College Park Woods community and near Cherokee Lake Elementary school.

Brady said the fire was in the area of a PEPCO sub-station and power lines.

University of Maryland police tweeted that traffic was being diverted and the road between the university’s astronomical observatory and the National Archives at College Park was closed.