(Le Mars) — Strong winds on Saturday were responsible for a field fire that was reported at about 3:20 p.m. near county road C-44 and Lynx Avenue, about four miles south of Le Mars. The fire was originally a controlled burn pile that was started on Thursday. However, the south winds that were gusting up to 35 mph Saturday afternoon, rekindled the embers, and quickly spread across a corn stubble field. Many of the firefighters were at the Willow Creek Golf Club setting up chairs, tables, and displays for their annual banquet scheduled for Saturday evening when the alarm came in. Fire Chief Dave Schipper says he was able to see the smoke when he was leaving town heading towards the fire, and realized immediately he would need additional help.
Schipper says firefighters were able to contain and extinguish the flames within an hour. He talks about the benefits of having the pickup truck grass and field wildfire rigs to help stop the spread of the fire.
Schipper estimates nearly 15 acres were burnt before firefighters were able to contain the spread of the blaze. Schipper says besides the community fire departments, local farmers also provided assistance with tractors and tillage disks.
