(Le Mars) — Strong winds of nearly 20 mph from the southeast caused a controlled fire to quickly become out of control and swept across a field burning approximately 20 acres. The fire was reported at about 3:00 p.m. this (Tuesday) afternoon. Firefighters from Le Mars, Merrill, and Akron used their pickup grass rigs along with two tankers, scrambling across the
harvested corn field and surrounding the blaze to keep the fire from spreading. The fire started about eight miles west of Le Mars, at 24221 190th Street, and was soon burning diagonally across the field until it reached Hedge Avenue, burning the ditch area for a distance of nearly a half a mile. Firefighters were on the scene for nearly an hour before being able to contain and control the flames.
