Newkirk, Iowa — A silage pile was damaged in a fire on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, near Hospers.
According to Hospers Fire Chief Jason Overmole, at about 3:05 p.m., the Hospers Fire Department was called to the report of what was first called a “cornstalk fire” at 4045 400th Street, three and a half miles west of Hospers or a half-mile west of Newkirk on B40.
The chief says the fire department saw heavy smoke and some flames from the southwest corner of what turned out to be a silage pile as they approached the scene. He says with the help of a fork loader, they spread the pile apart and doused it with water.
Overmole says no injuries were reported.
The fire department was assisted by the Alton and Granville fire departments.
He says the cause of the fire appeared to be spontaneous combustion.
Chief Overmole says they were trying to save some of the silage and hoped some of the pile could still be fed to livestock, but he wasn’t sure how much could be salvaged.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about two and a half hours.
