Smoke billows as firefighters work Wednesday morning to extinguish a grass fire in a field off East 1900 Road. Several departments, including Wakarusa, City of Eudora, Eudora Township and Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical responded to the fire that, according to training officer Chris Orwoll of Eudora Township Fire, started when high winds turned a neighbor's controlled burn into an out-of-control blaze.

Burning trash that got away led to a wind-fueled fire Wednesday that burned roughly 45 acres of a field near Eudora.

The fire began shortly before 11:30 a.m. in a field in the 1000 section of East 1900 Road.

It was under control within 45 minutes, but firefighters remained on the scene working to put it out until almost 6 p.m.

One member of the Eudora Township Fire Department was being treated Wednesday night for a sprained ankle, an injury that happened as he rushed to get out of the fire’s shifting path.

“The wind shifted, and he had to move very quickly,” said Chris Orwoll, the training officer for the all-volunteer Eudora Township department. “It shifted on us periodically, which made the firefighting extremely difficult and dangerous.”

Orwoll said residents south of the fire had been burning trash in a 55-gallon drum.

“The trash jumped out of there, hit their field on their property, and just whipped along,” he said, adding that the fire “was probably legal but not advisable” because of the high winds and recent dry conditions.

Agencies that responded included the Wakarusa Township fire department, the Eudora city fire department and Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical.