(Le Mars) — Le Mars Fire and Rescue responded to a grass fire on Highway 60 approximately 6 and a half miles northeast of Le Mars. The fire was reported at about 1:30 p.m. alongside the northbound lanes of traffic between the highway and the railroad. Fire Chief Dave Schipper says a cargo trailer that was being towed behind a pickup truck came unhitched which caused the fire.
Schipper says due to the extremely dry conditions the fire had spread quickly.
Plymouth County’s burn ban went into effect at 12:00 noon on Tuesday, March 1st. Schipper says the ban forbids any brush pile burning, or controlled burns on grass areas, but people are still able to enjoy their backyard barbecue on their grill.
Only a handful of counties in Iowa has issued burn bans, but Schipper believes more counties will be added to the list if the dry conditions persist.
Schipper says the only way for the burn ban to be lifted is if Plymouth County receives sufficient amounts of moisture either with rain or snow, or a combination of both forms of precipitation.
