Just as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Naig, urged farmers to exercise caution while harvesting in dryer-than-normal conditions, area agencies responded to a field fire. The Greene County Sheriff’s Office reports a deputy and the Jefferson Fire Department were called to a bean field fire in the 1800 block of Neola Avenue (U.S. Highway 4) south of Jefferson at approximately 3:13 p.m. Monday. They were able to extinguish the fire with minimal damage to the crop. According to the Iowa Drought Monitor, all of Greene, Carroll, Sac, Calhoun, Audubon and Guthrie Counties and the majority of Crawford County are still rated at D2, in severe drought conditions. The Iowa Crop Progress and Condition report is showing 44 percent of the state’s topsoil moisture is very short or short at 14 and 31 percent respectively. These dry conditions, coupled with above average temperatures, low humidity and strong winds have enhanced the risk of fire ignition and spread during harvest. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach offers tips on prevention, from keeping the harvesting machinery clean by routinely removing leaves and plant materials, to checking coolant and oil levels daily, examining exhausts and other hot surfaces, repairing damaged fuel or oil hoses, fittings or metal lines immediately and waiting 15 minutes before fueling to reduce the risk of a spill igniting.
