The Jamestown Rural Fire Department battled blazes at three different locations over about a 22-hour period beginning at about 2:30 p.m. Monday, according to Rick Woehl, assistant fire chief.
The first call was for a farm manure pile on fire east of Jamestown. Two trucks and four firefighters were on the scene for about 2 1/2 hours and contained the fire to the manure pile; there was no damage. About the time the firefighters and equipment returned to the department's headquarters, they received another call.
"At 5 p.m. we were dispatched to about 8 miles south on Highway 281 for a cattail slough and pasture fire," Woehl said. "We sent eight trucks and 16 firefighters were on the scene for 5 hours."
After returning to headquarters after 10 p.m., the firefighters refueled the trucks, filled water tanks and generally made sure all the equipment was ready for the next call. That call came just as they were completing those tasks.
"Right about midnight, we were called to a fire a mile and a half south on 281," Woehl said. "There were trees, slough and prairie on fire. We were on the scene there until 4 a.m."
ADVERTISEMENT
Once again, firefighters fueled up the trucks and got everything ready for the next call that came about 6 a.m.
"We were dispatched back to the same scene," Woehl said. "This time we were there to 7:30."
About 2 hours later, the same fire flared up again requiring firefighters to be on the scene until about noon.
Woehl said the fires were not set intentionally and the wind conditions accelerated the fires and made fighting the blazes difficult.
The manure pile fire was limited to the farmyard while the first fire south of Jamestown burned about 40 acres and the second fire between 30 and 40 acres. There were no structures damaged or firefighters injured in any of the fires.
"It really was a minimal acreage based on the wind conditions," Woehl said.
Wind speeds during the time the department was fighting the fires were sustained at 44 mph with gusts to 59 mph, according to the National Weather Service website.
