Sheldon, Iowa — Another day, another controlled burn that went out of control.
Shortly before 3:30 Sunday afternoon the Sheldon Fire Company was called to a burn pile that had gotten out of control at 3271 Oak Hill Avenue, which is about one-and-a-half miles southeast of Sheldon.
According to Sheldon Assistant Fire Chief Brad Hindt, when fire crews arrived on scene they discovered a large part of a grove on fire. Hindt says firefighters extinguished the flames along the fire line and cut down several trees that were in the path of the blaze, with a skid loader pushing the downed trees out of the path of the flames.
Hindt says his department responded with seventeen firefighters and needed 2,500 gallons of water to extinguish the flames. They were on scene for about an hour-and-a-half.
Sunday afternoon’s call was the third controlled burn that got out of control and required the Sheldon Fire Company to extinguish within a thirty-hour period. Hindt reminds people that the extreme drought conditions, combined with the recent strong winds, are a recipe for disaster, and that a small fire can rapidly become out of control, destroying everything in its path. He urges people to NOT conduct any open burning at this time, but if you must, he says PLEASE use extreme caution.
