Recent fires ravage Ontario wheat fields

Jul 20, 2016

Two incidents occurred over the past week

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Dry conditions and gusty winds caused two Ontario wheat fields to burn within the past week.

Fire crews from New Dundee and Kitchener were called to assist firefighters from North Dumfries control a fire in a wheat field on Fischer-Hallman Road Tuesday afternoon.

News of the blaze circulated around 4pm, with some people saying they could see a large plume of smoke from downtown Kitchener and Cambridge.

The fire burned about 38 acres of wheat, valued at about $40,000.

With fields suffering from lack of rain, firefighters think the fire could’ve been the result of a stone passing through a combine, causing a spark.

“With these dry conditions, that’s all it takes,” North Dumfries Fire chief Robert Shantz told CTV.

On July 13, firefighters from Coldstream and Ailsa Craig responded to a fire in a winter wheat field in Denfield, north of London, that burned 20 hectares.

Tom Kroesbergen, the farmer who rents the property, said he was combining in a nearby field when a baler caught fire.

“It spread so quickly, especially with the wind,” fire Capt. Paul Meyer told the London Free Press.

Before heading into fields with such dry conditions, farmers may want to read these tips on keeping balers and other machinery safe from possible fires.

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