INDIANOLA, Iowa — The Indianola Fire Department is warning residents after a controlled burn turned into a grass fire at a rural farm Wednesday afternoon.

According to Indianola Fire Chief Aaron Hurt, after 3:30 p.m. fire crews were dispatched to a grass fire in the 9700 block of Nixon Street, southwest of Indianola. Due to possible danger to surrounding buildings, additional crews were called to assist.

Saint Mary’s, New Virginia, and Carlisle were all called to the fire. UTV’s were used to access hard to reach areas in the fields. Fire Chief Hurt says muddy, wet ground and high winds made it more difficult to fight the fire.

Fire Chief Hurt spoke with the owner and found that the fire was intentionally started.

“So, the homeowner here did admit that he had set a debris pile on fire. And so that’s that should determine the cause of this fire. It wasn’t intentional. His intention was to burn the debris pile up, but it did spread due to the windy conditions and dry fuels,” said Fire Chief Hurt.

Chief Hurt says that even though Warren County, and other central Iowa counties, don’t have a burn ban, people should hold off on controlled burns. Hurt says if you must burn make sure you are watching the fire.

“I just encourage everybody when you’re burning out, outdoors to have an extinguisher or some sort of water source nearby and to watch it until the fire’s completely out,” said Hurt.

Visit the Iowa State Fire Marshal website for updates on burning and fire conditions, you can also visit the county burn bans list here.

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