Sutherland, Iowa — Five or six cornstalk bales were destroyed in a fire on Saturday, May 7, 2022, near Sutherland.
According to Sutherland Fire Chief Mark Shriver, at about 3:10 p.m., the Sutherland Fire Department was called to the report of bales on fire at 4316 Vine Avenue, a little more than three miles north of the east edge of Sutherland.
The chief says the fire department saw the bales on fire as they approached the scene. He says the farmer broke up the burning bales with a skid loader and firefighters wet them down.
Shriver says no injuries were reported. But he does say that the smoke was reaching the building site.
He says they believe that the fire was caused by the rekindling of a garbage pile that was burned early in the week.
Chief Shriver reports that the damage was limited to the bales. A quick check of recently paid cornstalk bale prices puts the damage at roughly $300.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about 45 minutes.
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Meanwhile, the Sioux Center Fire Department responded to two recent calls. Fire Chief David Van Holland reports the first call was actually to the chief’s own house at 1561 Sunrise Trail. He says there was an electrical issue with a dishwasher and a small fire ensued. He says the firefighters didn’t end up spraying any water, and there were no injuries.
Later that day, about 10 minutes before 8:00 p.m., Sioux Center firefighters were called to a gasoline smell in a basement at 288 11th Street Northeast in Sioux Center. Van Holland says they ventilated the basement and made sure that the occupants were going to sleep upstairs, but he says they never were able to find out the cause of the gasoline smell, and it remained a mystery when they left.
