Primghar, Iowa — A barn, a skid loader, and more were destroyed in a fire on Sunday, April 9, 2023, near Primghar.
According to Primghar Fire Chief Gary Lansink, at about 3:30 p.m., the Primghar Fire Department was called to the report of a large barn on fire at 5651 360th Street, three miles west and three north of Primghar.
The chief says from three or four miles away the fire department saw the building was fully engulfed. He says when they arrived they could see the barn was a lost cause, so they put their efforts into saving other structures on the farm. They cooled a propane tank, and put out a manure spreader and a skid loader. He says the fabric was melted off of a hoop barn and some siding was melted off of the house, which was 50 yards away.
Lansink says some nearby cattle were anxious but no injuries were reported to people, pets, or livestock.
The fire department was assisted by the Archer and Sanborn fire departments.
He says the farmer had been burning some bale wrap, which had started some soybean stover on fire. He tried to drag it out with the skid loader, but then the skid loader started on fire, so he tried to put that out with a garden hose, but by that time he noticed that the barn was on fire.
Chief Lansink reports that the barn and its contents were totaled, as was the skid loader.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about an hour and 15 minutes.
