Waymart Wind Farm turbine on ridge near Browndale catches fire
Tri-County Independent|Peter Becker|Mar 12, 2026
A wind turbine at the Waymart Wind Farm in Wayne County caught fire on March 9, marking the first such incident since the farm started operations in October 2023. The fire, which originated from the turbine's nacelle, was allowed to burn out naturally due to the remote location and the presence of snow. The cause of the fire is under investigation by Waymart Wind Farm personnel.
A wind turbine at the Waymart Wind Farm in Wayne County caught fire on March 9, marking the first such incident since the farm started operations in October 2023. The fire, which originated from the turbine's nacelle, was allowed to burn out naturally due to the remote location and the presence of snow. The cause of the fire is under investigation by Waymart Wind Farm personnel.
A wind turbine at the Waymart Wind Farm in Wayne County caught fire on March 9.
This was the first fire at the facility since it began operating in October 2023.
Fire officials allowed the fire to burn itself out due to the remote location and snow on the ground.
Soon after the sun had set March 9 behind the ridgeline marking Wayne County’s western border, where the Waymart Wind Farm stretches, residents were startled to see one of the 43 turbines on fire.
Browndale Fire Chief Josh Debevec said it is the first time one of the turbines has caught fire since the commercial wind farm went into operation in October 2023. The turbine in question, No. 2, is near the village of Browndale, just east of Forest City on what's referred to as …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]A wind turbine at the Waymart Wind Farm in Wayne County caught fire on March 9.
This was the first fire at the facility since it began operating in October 2023.
Fire officials allowed the fire to burn itself out due to the remote location and snow on the ground.
Soon after the sun had set March 9 behind the ridgeline marking Wayne County’s western border, where the Waymart Wind Farm stretches, residents were startled to see one of the 43 turbines on fire.
Browndale Fire Chief Josh Debevec said it is the first time one of the turbines has caught fire since the commercial wind farm went into operation in October 2023. The turbine in question, No. 2, is near the village of Browndale, just east of Forest City on what's referred to as Browndale Mountain.
Waymart Wind Farm is the only utility-scale wind farm in the Pocono counties. Each turbine is 215 feet high, all standing on approximately 5 miles of the Moosic Mountain ridge in Canaan and Clinton townships.
On a clear day they are visible from at least as far east as near Beach Lake (nearly 18 miles) and as far west as the Hop Bottom, Susquehanna County, area (approximately 28 miles).
The fire was seen coming from the nacelle apparatus behind the blades. The nacelle is mounted on top the support tower and contains the gearbox assembly, aerodynamic and mechanical braking systems, turbine generator, and electrical power transmission systems, according to energyfollower.com.
“I’m not sure when it started, but when I first saw it, it was a matter of minutes that it was fully on fire,” said James Wheaton Jr., of Forest City. “It was a matter of an hour and a half to two hours and it was out.”
Wheaton was able to send up a drone for a couple short videos of the fire. One of the videos also shows the fire trucks far below, coming up the access road along the ridge. He said he often looks for sunsets and landscape views for his drone footage.
Response to the turbine fire
At about 6:30 p.m. Debevec was contacted about the possibility of one of the turbines on fire. His report states that upon his investigation, he found the turbine actively burning, resulting in calling Browndale Fire Company and Waymart Volunteer Fire Department to the scene. Forest City Area Emergency Services was placed on standby.
He also notified the wind farm operational personnel and Wayne County Emergency Management Agency.
“Due to the remote location and sufficient snowpack, it was determined by fire company officials and windmill operators that the fire will burn itself out and exposures were limited due to the snowpack,” Debevac's report states, adding that Wayne County EMA concurred.
The fire departments returned to service at approximately 9 p.m. Browndale Fire Company had 10 personnel on scene.
What causes wind farm turbine fires?
Debevec said Waymart Wind Farm personnel were coming on site to determine the extent of the damage and recovery process. A report on the cause has not been released.
According to GridInfo Electrical Generation Insight, Waymart Wind Farm has been owned since 2022 by Sequitur Renewables, LLC, of Boston. The wind farm generates 103 gigawatts an hour. The source states that Waymart Wind Farm is ranked 14th out of 27 wind farms in Pennsylvania in terms of total annual net electricity generation. The installation generated 31.0 GWh during the three-month period between September and December 2025.
Waymart Wind Farm is ranked 900th out of 1,374 wind power plants nationwide, according to GridInfo Electrical Generation Insight.
A National Library of Medicine report from 2023 concerning noted that fire was the second-most-common accident concerning wind turbines worldwide between 2000 and March 2023, citing the Caithness Windfarm Information Forum. CWIF identified 3287 reported accidents during that period, 15% related to fire.
Typical causes of wind turbine fires, NLM stated, are lightning strikes, mechanical and hydraulic faults, and failure in electrical installations.