A field fire in a newly harvested cornfield west of Jasper prompted an early afternoon call out for firefighters with the Jasper Volunteer Fire Department with the assistance from the nearby Ireland Fire Department.
Around 1:15 this afternoon, firefighters responded to the reported blaze in a cornfield that was being harvested along the 3600 block of West County Road 150 North.
Jasper Fire Chief Kenny Hochgesang says farmers were harvesting the field when a hot object smoldered and fell off the combine, triggering the blaze and ignited the dry cornstalks in the field.
While firefighters were in the process of containing the fire, Hochgesang says the wind suddenly began to pick up and push the fire west, forcing Jasper Department to request the assistance of a tanker and brush truck from Ireland. The fire was contained but not before burning and estimated five acres of land.
A combined 35 firefighters from both departments along with three Jasper trucks and two from Ireland were on the scene for approximately 45 minutes.
