News : Ash Wednesday marked with...Fire

An RV sits in the middle of a field surrounded by burned ground around it.

Burned ditches...

...on both sides of the road

Just some of the vehicles that responded to put out the fire.

The hillside where firefighters were chasing the flames

Fire near LaPorte City

When I got a call about a fire west of town, I noted that it was, after all, Ash Wednesday...

A call went out around 3:00 p.m. about a fire west of town. With the wind blowing at more than 25 miles per hour, the fire demanded the help of both the Vinton Fire Department and the Canton-Benton-Shellsburg Fire Department to control the flames. 

Fortunately, the departments were able to contain the blaze. Ditches are burned from about 2739-2761 on 61st St. Lane. The fire engulfed an RV that was parked in a field, and spread to the ditches on both sides of the road. Across the road from the RV, the flames made their way up a hillside before it was extinguished.

It did not appear that any structures were harmed. Hats off to both departments for their quick response and their ability to keep the fire from spreading. North Benton EMS also responded to the site.

Outside of LaPorte City, another field fire broke out temporarily closing Brandon Road between LaPorte and South Canfield Road, the cause of this fire is uncertain as well. There were multiple fires across the state as conditions were highly conducive to fire spread.