The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for today (Wednesday) covering a large portion of the north-central plains, including western Iowa. Due to forecasted strong winds coupled with extremely dry conditions, the risk for a fire to spread uncontrollably if ignited is high. Area fire departments have been called to at least two substantial field fires over the past several days. Iowans are asked to use increased caution when participating in activities that could start a fire, especially farmers working to harvest crops from their fields. The current watch is effective from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday but could be extended depending on the forecast.
