A barn and a skid loader were victims of a rural Primghar fire on April 9.
Primghar Fire Chief Gary Lansink reported that, at around 3:30 p.m., the Primghar Fire Department responded to a large barn on fire at 5651 360th Street, approximately three miles west and three miles north of Primghar.
The barn, fully engulfed in flames, was visible from several miles away. Lansink said that when the firefighters arrived they could see the barn was a lost cause, so they put their efforts into saving other structures on the farm. That involved cooling a propane tank and putting out a manure spreader and a skid loader. The intense heat had melted fabric off of a hoop barn and some siding off of the house, which was 50 yards away from the fire.
The Primghar Fire Department was assisted by the Sanborn and Archer fire departments.
In discussing the cause of the fire, Chief Lansink said that the farmer had been burning some bale wrap, which had started some soybean stover on fire. The farmer reportedly tried to drag it out with the skid loader, but then the skid loader started on fire, so he tried to put that out with a garden hose. By that time he noticed that the barn was on fire.
Lansink further commented that some nearby cattle were anxious but that there were no injuries reported to people, pets or livestock. He did note that the barn and its contents were totaled, as was the skid loader.
Lansink said the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about one hour and 15 minutes.