Orange City, Iowa — Hundreds of bales were destroyed in a fire on Saturday, April 12, 2025, near Middleburg, and seven area fire departments helped to extinguish the flames.
According to Orange City Fire Chief Dan Roghair, at about 12:15 p.m., the Orange City Fire Department was called to the report of a bale fire at Kooiker Dairy — near 370th Street and Ironwood Avenue, seven miles north and a little over a mile west of Orange City, or just west of Middleburg.
The chief says the fire department saw lots of smoke as they approached the scene. He says firefighters and volunteers with tractors, disks, payloaders, and other equipment helped to move the bales and put them out. He says the Nixle app really helped with requesting assistance from “good Samaritans”.
Roghair says no injuries were reported. But he says the smoke across roads in the area was a hazard to traffic.
The fire department was assisted by the Alton, Sioux Center, Hull, Boyden, Hospers, and Maurice fire departments, while the Le Mars Fire Department watched for any fire calls in Orange City.
He says the cause of the fire is undetermined.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about three hours and 45 minutes.
