Two marathon fires were burning in Manor Township on Thursday.

A brush fire started near the railroad tracks along the Susquehanna River about 6 p.m. Wednesday, Highville Fire Company Fire Chief Mike Ditzler said. It is partially on the Lancaster County landfill property.

That fire is about three miles north of a large barn fire that started Tuesday about 11 p.m., he said.

The brush fire is about four or five acres in size, Tim Dugan of the state Bureau of Forestry's William Penn Forest District said Thursday. State forestry officials are investigating its cause.

"There are some low, creeping flames" associated with the fire, and the ground cover is smoldering, he said.

Summer fires tend to burn deep into the organic material and soil, so firefighters will have to monitor the brush fire for some time after flames are visible, Dugan said. Forest firefighters from throughout southeastern Pennsylvania have been called in to assist.

"Wind can be an issue, and it is expected to be quite windy, with little rain," this weekend, he said. "Crews will try to have the fire wrapped up before the front comes in."

The brush and barn fires are not related, Ditzler said.

"We are uncertain how (the brush fire) got started," he said. It is impossible that embers from the barn fire could have ignited the brush fire.

"The brush fire is three miles north of the barn fire, and there was no wind," Ditzler said.

An area resident reported the brush fire about 6 Wednesday night, and about 35 firefighters responded, he said.

"We had a tremendously hard time getting to the fire," Ditzler said. "The overall terrain there is such a steep cliff, and it is a densely wooded area."

Not much was done to fight the fire Wednesday night besides containment because of the danger of working on the hillside in the dark, he said. Firefighters intensified their efforts on Thursday.

Trains were ordered to slow down in the area because the brush fire came within 300 feet of the railroad tracks, Ditzler said.

Ditzler also gave an update on Tuesday night's two-alarm fire that caused $200,000 damage to a huge barn full of hay at Star Rock Farms, 175 Chestnut Grove Road, Conestoga.

The fire was still burning on Thursday, he said.

"It's not very large," Ditzler said. "It is a smoldering fire. The farm owner is going to handle it with farm hands."

Firefighters hope the barn fire will burn itself out by this weekend, he said.

Highville fire department crews handed off some of their firefighting duties at the brush fire Thursday to other area departments because some firefighters had not slept since Tuesday afternoon or before, Ditzler said.

rrobinson@lnpnews.com