Volunteer firefighters were dispatched to an area south of St. Joseph Tuesday morning to the report of a brush fire.

Crews from the Dekalb, Faucette and Agency fire departments were sent to the 4700 block of Southwest Bethel Road shortly after 4:30 a.m.

Access to the area was causing some problems for fire crews.

Agents from the Missouri Department of Conservation were also dispatched, after firefighters learned that the only access to the bluff was through one of their locked gates.  Officials urged the firefighters to cut the lock.

A crew from the South Central Buchanan County Fire  Protection District was also taking part in the firefighting effort.

A landowner said the fire was spreading to the northeast.  A firefighter said it was also spreading to the northwest toward Bluff Road.

The fire is located about two miles north of Dekalb near U.S. highway 59.

By 6:15 a.m., fire crews and agents with the Missouri Department of Conservation decided to call off the active firefighting effort. They said they would “babysit” the fire and call in additional manpower if any structures were threatened.