Inwood, Iowa — A corn stover pile was damaged in a fire on Thursday, April 15, 2021, near Inwood.
According to Inwood Fire Chief Troy Van Beek, about 9:50 a.m., the Inwood Fire Department was called to the report of a silage pile fire at 2277 Coolidge Avenue, a mile north, two east, and a half north of Inwood.
The chief says the fire department saw a little flame and some melted plastic on the pile as they approached the scene. He says it actually turned out to be corn stover, which is the leaves, stalks, and cobs of corn — basically the non-grain part of the corn plant. It’s harvested dry after the corn has been harvested and can be used as livestock feed.
He says they pulled the tarp back, and cut the pile in half with a payloader. According to Van Beek, firefighters just stood by with a hose to put out flareups as the damaged and smoldering stover was spread on a field to die out.
Van Beek says no injuries were reported.
He says the cause of the fire appeared to be spontaneous combustion, but it’s undetermined
Chief Van Beek reports that there was limited damage. He says they were able to save about 90 percent of the pile of stover.
Van Beek tells us the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about two hours.
