DOLOROSO &045; An oil production tank battery exploded and burned late Tuesday morning in a secluded area east of U.S. 61 in northern Wilkinson County.

The cause of the fire remained unknown to investigators Tuesday, but the owner of the tanks said the fire was suspicious.

&uot;There was nothing running. The well had been down since Sunday,&uot; said Kevin Wilson of Blackjack Oil Co. in Sibley.

Wilkinson County Fire Chief Louis D’Aquila said an employee of the Mississippi Department of Transportation first reported the fire at 11:37 a.m.

Though no evidence had been found as of Tuesday evening to suggest anyone was injured or missing, Wilson wondered if someone had deliberately set the fire &045; or if possibly a hunter had accidentally ignited the tanks.

&uot;We haven’t found anybody … or any four-wheelers yet, but this fire is suspicious,&uot; he said.

D’Aquila said an unidentified male called sometime after the first caller and reported he was unable to pass through the road he was on due to the fire.

D’Aquila said that caller did not give his name or exact location. Efforts to identify the unknown caller are ongoing, D’Aquila said.

The tank battery was located on a gravel road that runs between Smith Road and Cold Springs Road near Doloroso.

Wilson leases the land where the tanks were located from Plum Creek Timber Co..

&uot;We had a man out here at about 9:30 this morning, and everything was OK. Then, about an hour and half later, we have an explosion. That’s why we think it’s suspicious,&uot; Wilson said.

Fire departments from Woodville, Buffalo and Adams County responded to the call. The Mississippi Forestry Commission sent a dozer to the scene to cut a perimeter around the site.

D’Aquila said the fire was contained by 2 p.m. &uot;No equipment or water was used on the fire. It basically burned itself out,&uot; he said.

At 3 p.m., officials from the state Department of Environmental Quality, the State Oil and Gas Board and the Wilkinson County Sheriff’s Department joined Wilson at the scene, inspecting and photographing the smoldering iron and rubble.

The unit contained three 300-barrel stock tanks used to store oil from a nearby production rig. Only one of the tanks contained oil. Another stored a saltwater byproduct of the production operation, and a third tank was empty, Wilson said.

Still, the blaze destroyed the tank battery and scorched about an acre of land immediately surrounding the site. Wilson estimated the damage at $25,000.