Fire departments battle blazes in dry, windy conditions
Field, grass fires ignite in Mount Vernon, Spencer areas.By: Chris Huber, The Daily Republic
- Spencer grass fire
- Mount Vernon field fire
Area fire departments were busy Monday afternoon as dry and windy conditions fueled two rural fires.
The larger of the two was located one mile west of Mount Vernon. A harvested corn field caught fire as a farmer was working in the field with a tractor. Wind gusts reaching 30 mph from the northwest blew thick smoke across state Highway 38, as crews from Mount Vernon and Mitchell fought the fire.
The other fire happened just before noon when the Spencer Fire Department got a call about a small grass fire five miles northwest of Farmer on the west side of Long Lake. Spencer Fire Chief Don Rieck said the landowner was burning a small amount of garbage, and the fire got out of control.
“There is a reason we are in a burn ban,” Rieck said, citing dry conditions at the scene. The landowner was not immediately cited for violating the burn ban.
Approximately 1.5 acres of grass was burned from the fire.
Tags: news, updates, fire, region
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