Times-Journal News Editor

Inside the Providence Missionary Baptist Church on King’s Bend Road, revival was in full swing.

Even outside the church, the sounds of salvation rang loud and clear.

However, if the minister was preaching about the high price of sin, the best thing to do would have been to march the congregation out the door and into the blazing field out back.

The Dallas County Rescue Squad was called to the scene of a controlled burn behind the church after a change in the weather prevented the smoke from escaping the area and covered East Selma in smoke.

Selma Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike Stokes said the owner of the field had all the proper permits but with the smoke hanging low, the fire had to be put out.

The fire was ringed by a wide dirt/sand road, which kept it well under control until it had to be extinguished.