RUNNELLS, Iowa — Friday’s high winds spread a fire outside Runnells across an estimated 30 to 40 acres of field.

The Camp Township & Runnells Fire Department was called to the 9100 block of Southeast 13th Avenue around 2:30 p.m. on reports of a field fire.

Upon arrival, firefighters found that the fire had spread across dozens of acres and called in surrounding agencies to assist. Altoona, Mitchellville and Pleasant Hill supplied tenders, UTVs, and brush trucks during the assist.

“It took a little bit of time just because of the wind,” said Nic Hutchinson, with Camp Township & Runnells FD. “We would get a stop on it, refill the trucks, and then it would start to kick back up again. But thankfully, the terrain helped us out today and didn’t get into too many trees. So, it was mainly just cornfield.”

The fire is believed to have sparked from the embers of a controlled burn a neighbor had on Thursday.

No property damage or injuries have been reported.

Polk County is not in an active burn ban, but several southern Iowa counties are seeing them put in place. You can check active burn bans on the Iowa Fire Marshall website.