Northwest Iowa — The windy and still fairly dry conditions are giving northwest Iowa firefighters headaches.
In addition to a structure fire that they were called to twice in two days, Everly firefighters were also called out on Monday afternoon to a grass fire along the Ocheyedan river. Fire Chief Brian Kahl reports that the owners were doing some controlled burning, but the fire got out of control. He says between 150 and 200 acres burned, and the owner did have minor burns to his face from fighting the fire. Kahl says firefighters from Hartley, Fostoria, and Milford assisted them, and firefighters were there about four and a half hours.
Larchwood firefighters were called to a waterway fire on Monday afternoon. Fire Chief Tony DeSmet says a burning pile was the culprit there too. Only about two acres burned there.
There was also a ditch fire reported near Alton on Monday morning. Fire Chief Quintin Van Es says that one was, what he calls, “a little weird,” as the grass was short, so it wasn’t like someone was trying to burn the ditch, and it was on both sides of a residential driveway. He’s not sure on the cause, but thinks it may have been something from a passing vehicle like sparks or a cigarette. Firefighters were only there for a few minutes.
Inwood firefighters were called into South Dakota on Monday for a grass fire there. It was in Canton’s territory. Canton Fire Chief Nate Laubach says it burned about 52 acres along the river and hills near Newton Hills State Park. He tells us they were fortunate that they were able to stop it before it entered the state park. He says the cause is undetermined. In addition to the grass, the owner was in the process of building a new home and had stored a couple of four-wheelers in an old calving barn on the property. The calving barn and four-wheelers were destroyed in the blaze. Firefighters were on the scene for five and a half hours, and firefighters from not only Canton and Inwood, but also Worthing and Fairview fought that blaze.
