PENN TWP — Gusty winds and unseasonably warm temperatures helped fuel a brush fire late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning that burned up to 3 acres near a housing plan, authorities said.

“It was a large brush fire that was in the woods,” said Ray Glace, an assistant chief with the Penn Township Volunteer Fire Department. “It was hard to get to.”

Nearly two dozen firefighters battled the fire for almost two hours outside the Oak Hills Manor development near Old Plank Road.

A neighbor saw the fire and called 911 at 11:35 p.m. Tuesday, according to a county dispatcher.

“It was going pretty good when we got there,” Glace said. “The wind was picking up and that kept it going.”

It was stubborn enough that Meridian volunteer firefighters were called in to help.

Glace estimated that between 2½ and 3 acres of woods burned before the fire was finally extinguished about 1:15 a.m. Wednesday.

Fire officials suspect a homeowner's still smoldering brush pile from earlier in the day Tuesday ignited the fire.

Authorities noted that the warm weather for this time of year has made for relatively dry conditions and raised the risk of brush fires.