The Jamestown Rural Fire Department responded to two fires Tuesday, June 16. No injuries were reported in either fire, said Rick Woehl, assistant fire chief.
The first fire was reported at 5:37 p.m. on U.S. Highway 281 about 17 miles south of Jamestown.
“It was in the back sleeper compartment of the semi-tractor (at that location),” he said.
The driver was towing a refrigerated trailer and had separated it from the semi-tractor, Woehl said.
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“The fire was contained to just the sleeper compartment of the semi-tractor so we considered it a good save,” he said.
The damage to the sleeper compartment was extensive, he said. The cause is undetermined at this time.
Thirteen firefighters and five units were at the scene for about 90 minutes, he said.
The second fire call occurred at 7:30 p.m. and was in a feedlot at 7795 28th St. SE, about 4 miles south of Buchanan. Woehl said the owner had burned a hay bale in the feedlot about a week and a half ago, which apparently still had some smoldering embers deep inside it that were stirred up by the wind. Compost and manure in an area about 20 feet by 50 feet burned, he said.
“There was sheep in that feedlot at the time of the fire,” Woehl said. He estimated there were more than 100 sheep at the site. They were not injured.
“Fortunately with the wind conditions as they were and a fire of that nature in the yard … we were lucky there was no other damage, other than just contained it to the feedlot,” he said.
The Fire Department was at the site for about 40 minutes.
Strong winds Tuesday were not a major issue in either fire, he said.
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“Anytime there’s this kind of heat and wind, the conditions are right for fire spread,” he said. “Fortunately, right now, there’s a little bit of green out there but I don’t know that with this heat and wind that the green isn’t going to matter much. Conditions are right for fire spread so I guess everybody needs to be mindful of what they’re doing outdoors.”
