Northwest Iowa — Fire departments helped put out a couple of bale fires over the weekend in northwest Iowa.
Sioux Center, Iowa — Hundreds of bales and part of a cattle shed were destroyed in a fire extinguished by five fire departments on Sunday, April 3, 2022, near Sioux Center.
According to Sioux Center Fire Chief David Van Holland, at about 3:00 p.m., the Sioux Center Fire Department was called to the report of a bale fire near buildings at 3664 Dogwood Avenue, nine miles west and two and a half north of Sioux Center.
The chief says the fire department saw a number of round cornstalk bales on fire as they approached the scene. Van Holland says no injuries were reported.
The fire department was assisted by firefighters from Ireton, Rock Valley, Hudson, and Hawarden and area farmers that responded to a request for disks and payloaders.
He says the cause of the fire appeared to be sparks from a burn pile.
Chief Van Holland reports that two to three hundred cornstalk bales were destroyed in the blaze.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about two hours.
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Granville, Iowa — About a half-a-dozen round cornstalk bales were destroyed in a fire on Friday, April 1, 2022, near Granville.
According to Granville Fire Chief Karl Kellen, at about 6:00 p.m., the Granville Fire Department was called to the report of round bales on fire close to a barn at 4530 460th Street, about a mile west of Granville.
The chief says the fire department saw the bales on fire as they approached the scene, and worked to extinguish them. He says a farmer neighbor with a loader helped them by dragging the bales away from buildings, especially the barn, which was only about 20 feet away. Hospers firefighters provided auto aid.
Kellen says no injuries were reported.
He says the cause of the fire appeared to be sparks from a nearby burn pile.
Chief Kellen reports that the bales were lost, but the buildings were saved.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about 45 minutes.
