(Undated)– Large field fires fueled by winds gusting to nearly 50 mph at times has prompted officials with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office to ask farmers to temporarily stop their harvest.
The largest fires have been reported in Emmet county just south of Wallingford, near Emmetsburg, Fostoria and Hartley.
The Spirit Lake Fire Department assisted the Jackson, Minnesota Fire Department earlier in the day battling a field fire near Petersburg where a combine went up in flames along with some hay bales.
In Palo Alto county, farmer Neal Heldt lost a combine when it burst into flames. He says he was harvesting soybeans when something sparked and suddenly he was surrounded by flames. Heldt wasn’t injured.
Officials say the vegetation is extremely dry and volatile right now due to the extremely dry conditions the area has experienced since mid-July. Officials say it’s so dry that the smallest spark or even heat from an engine or exhaust on a combine is enough to start fields on fire. And with the strong wind, the fires quickly spread.
At one point, every fire department in Dickinson county was out battling field fires.
The wind is expected to diminish late tonight (Thurs.), but no rain is in the forecast for atleast the next week.
