Northwest Iowa — The recent snowfall will probably slow this down a little, but northwest Iowa firefighters were busy this weekend, both putting out fires, and responding to fire calls that turned out to be intentional fires.
Fire departments from Orange City, Sutherland, Larchwood, Hawarden, Rock Valley, and Little Rock were all called out.
Orange City Fire Chief Denny Vander Wel says they were called to a grass fire on Saturday afternoon. He says someone was burning weeds and control of the fire was lost. He says firefighters were on the scene for about a half an hour.
Sutherland Fire Chief Mark Shriver says they were called to a grass fire southeast of Dog Creek. He too says someone was burning, and the fire went out of control. The fire near Sutherland was a little more substantial. Larabee firefighters were called for mutual aid, and those that responded were on the scene for two to three hours.
Larchwood Fire Chief Tony DeSmet says their fire was a pasture fire on Saturday morning. He says it burned about an acre of the pasture. He says their firefighters went out with trucks, and it was put out within minutes. He says they were there for probably less than a half an hour.
Little Rock Fire Chief Joe Schilling says they fought a corn stalk fire on Saturday two miles south of Little Rock. He says the farmer was burning some small piles from baling stalks when the wind picked up and the fire spread through the field. He says, fortunately, the farmer did have a disc hooked up and was using it when firefighters arrived. He says they were on the scene for about 45 minutes and were assisted by Little Rock EMS.
Also, firefighters from Hawarden were called to a ditch fire in the 11 p.m. hour on Friday night, but it turned out to be an intentional fire.
Rock Valley firefighters had a similar experience on Friday evening. They were called to a grass fire at Rivers Bend Campground, but it was also an intentional fire.
Fire chiefs in northwest Iowa are urging people to call the sheriff’s office in their county to report when they are going to be burning ditches or engaging in similar activities so that firefighters aren’t called to intentional fires. Not only is it a waste of resources, but it’s impossible for firefighters to social distance when they are headed out to a fire call, and with the pandemic going on, that’s an issue too.
