Primghar, Iowa — Some trees and a couple of dairy calf huts were damaged in a fire on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, near Primghar.
According to Primghar firefighters, at about 1:15 p.m., the Primghar Fire Department was called to the report of a grove fire at 5818 380th Street, a half mile north and a half mile west of Primghar.
When they got there, firefighters say they saw trees, two unoccupied dairy calf huts, and ground vegetation fully involved in fire. They tell us that with wind speeds of 25 mph gusting to 30+ mph, the initial attack was directed at the spreading vegetation fire crawling toward a downwind outbuilding. Firefighters were able to contain the spread and began extinguishing the calf huts and standing trees. A team was assigned to search hut by hut as they were full of dry hay. Four other huts were found with signs of fire/smoke. The hay was removed and extinguished. Crews overhauled the scene by disassembling the burn pile, cutting down the burned trees, and saturating everything to eliminate all potential reignition.
No injuries were reported.
A burn pile on the property, used in days prior to the fire to burn trees, had rekindled with the help of the strong wind.
They tell us the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about an hour and a half.
The day before, the Primghar firefighters were called to what was called in as a gas smell. Fire Chief Cory Crouch says the smell was detected by a new renter after they turned on the furnace. He says fire crews arrived with their gas detection equipment, but couldn’t find anything. He says they did smell sewer gas, so they surmised that the smell may have been released by a dry drain trap.
KIWA Staff Photo
