CLINTON — Multiple brush fires that scorched more than 40 acres of land earlier this week just north of Clinton were caused by a malfunctioning truck driving along LA 67, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry officials said Friday.

On Tuesday, about 15 fires were ablaze for more than six miles on the west side of LA 67 going toward LA 432. While the fires were being contained by volunteer firefighters from across the parish and Amite County, Mississippi, LA 67 north was shut down for multiple hours.

"We didn’t know if it was somebody lighting it if it was somebody dragging a chain," Bluff Creek Fire Department Assistant Chief and East Feliciana Parish Homeland Security Director Darryl Buhler said.

In the immediate aftermath of the fires, officials said the fires were not arson.

Southeast region forestry enforcement agents and East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives identified the suspected vehicle — a Ford F-250 — and its registered owner on Thursday. Investigators believe a mechanical failure in the car's tailpipe caused sparks to fly out and ignite the fires unbeknownst to the driver, agents said.

“We had a citizen who came and notified law enforcement that they had earlier previously been behind a truck they saw shooting sparks out the tailpipe," East Feliciana Parish Sheriff Jeff Travis said.

When agents and deputies located the truck, the owner said he was unaware of the tailpipe sparks. Travis said he is confident that this was not done intentionally. 

The flames did frighten many along the road, Travis said. 

“I talked with several citizens up that highway," he said. “Most of them had never seen anything quite like that. It was very frightening and it had the potential of being a lot had everyone not come together and worked together to get this under control.”

A burn ban was also put in place in East Feliciana Parish, where Clinton is the parish seat. Without rain, it doesn't take much to start a wildfire, Assistant Chief Buhler said. 

“Sparks flying, that’ll start it. Dragging chains," he said. "If you have a malfunction on your truck, make sure it’s not blowing any sparks out and stuff like that. There’s so much stuff that people do that they don’t think about.”