George, Iowa — Two additional fire departments were called out after a controlled burn that George firefighters were assisting with went out of control on Friday, April 10, 2026, near George.
According to George Fire Chief Bill Sprock, at a few minutes before 5:00 p.m., the George Fire Department was tending a controlled burn of CRP acres when the wind switched and control of the fire was lost. It was near the intersection of 215th Street and Kingbird Avenue, about a mile east of George. He says first, they asked for Little Rock firefighters to be paged out for mutual aid assistance, and shortly thereafter, they also asked for help from Rock Rapids firefighters.
Sprock says no injuries were reported to people, pets, or livestock.
Chief Sprock reports that the damage was limited to ground cover.
He says they sent the other departments home, but George firefighters stayed for a while to make sure everything was out.
Then, on Monday, April 13th, George firefighters were again called. This time, it was a field fire at 2138 Log Aveune, about five miles east of George.
Sprock says this too started as a controlled burn of a fenceline, but it worked its way into the field, so the firefighters were called. Luckily, it had started raining, and the rain put out most of the fire by the time the trucks arrived. They made sure it was out and did some mopup and were done in about 20 minutes.
The George Emergency Medical Service EMTs, or GEMS, assisted at both calls.
By the way, a fire weather watch has been issued for the first tier of Iowa counties east of the Big Sioux River through this Thursday evening. It means any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. The counties in the watch are Lyon, Sioux, Plymouth, and Woodbury counties. On the other side of the river, the risk is even greater, and a Red Flag Warning is in effect for most of southern and eastern South Dakota.
KIWA Staff Photo
