(Merrill) — Smoke could be seen for miles, as fire fighters from four communities battled a fire located at 25675 County Road K-49, or about 5 miles east of Merrill. A corn silage pile, along with numerous round corn stalk bales, ignited when a payloader tractor touched the dry husks of the bales. Underneath the silage pile are old rubber tires that also have ignited. Lost are several round bales, tons of corn silage, and the payloader tractor that has a value of at least $30,000. That fire started at about 2:40 p.m. Fire fighters from Merrill, Hinton, Le Mars and Oyens have responded to that fire.
