Granville, Iowa– Three northwest Iowa fire departments were called out to a fire on Monday, October 17, 2022, near Hospers and Granville.
According to Granville Assistant Fire Chief Curtis Christoffel, at about 1:10 p.m., the Granville Fire Department was called to the report of a field fire near 430th Street & Larch Avenue, about 3.3 miles southwest of Hospers.
Christoffel himself noticed smoke and found flames in cornstalks so he had the fire department paged. He says they were growing at an alarming rate with the wind blowing the fire between two acreages. He says they used water to help extinguish the flames and about ten farmers with tractors and disks responded to a Nixle message to come disk firebreaks.
Assistant Chief Christoffel says no injuries were reported.
The fire department was assisted by the Alton and Hospers fire departments.
He says someone had dumped some garbage in a burning pit they thought was out. That rekindled and started the blaze.
Assistant Chief Christoffel reports that damage was limited to cornstalks and grass, but there are six acreages within a mile, so it was a little concerning for a while.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for 45 minutes. Christoffel reminds us that Sioux County is under a burning ban and that you can be fined for starting fires. He says that they would be lost without the Nixle system and farmers who respond to the calls that they put out for disks. He thanks them for volunteering to help firefighters and their neighbors.
The Boyden Fire Department responded to a field fire on Monday evening. Fire Chief Chris Stakenburg says there was lots of smoke and some flames when they arrived. He says someone had been chopping corn stalks when a bearing went out on the chopper, which started the fire. He says they put it out with water and the help of one disk.
He says the calm wind that evening was a blessing as the fire didn’t spread quickly, plus there were no nearby buildings. Only cornstalks burned, and firefighters were out for about half an hour.
