A small brush fire on the grounds of the Naval Academy dairy farm yesterday afternoon grew into a five-alarm blaze that damaged 40 to 60 acres of crops, the Anne Arundel County fire department reported.

Firefighters responded at about 3: 10 p.m. to the 865-acre Gambrills dairy farm in the central part of the county, said Lt. Michael Smith of the fire department.

The fire burned for more than two hours before it was contained at about 5: 30 p.m., he said.

For decades, the dairy provided milk to midshipmen at the academy in Annapolis.

In July, the academy announced that it would start to buy milk commercially.

Pub Date: 9/11/98