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Another wheat field fire

J

jimont

Member
Another wheat field fire here in super dry Southern Ontario! This one started by a baler and threatens a large chicken barn. Several surrounding fire departments have responded. Hopefully they get it contained,if not who knows where it will end up. It's the driest I have ever seen in 50yrs of farming with no end in sight. Another field was lost last week with over $40,000 of wheat lost north-west of us around Kitchener-Waterloo. Not a fun farming year to say the least.
 

Sorry to hear about the loss. Mother Nature sometimes is difficult to understand. Hang in there as we had a drought in Texas for a long while and now it's greened back up.
 
We had a drought in 2012 and I kept a tractor and disc ready at all times. Never had to use it but was always in the same field as combine.
 
Well jimont , here in east/central Ont. we are not as dry as you ,but fire in a grain field at harvest time seems to be always a risk now .With bigger fields , and big round balers that take fire when a bearing fails . Large, late model combines seem to lite up good too.
 
Bruce,we've been through dry spells before,just not for three months in a row! Your 2nd cut is higher than our first cut and 2nd cut is at about 6-7". County wide,soys run from 2" to 12", corn has started to fire as well.
We'll get through this,just glad we're not cash-croppers.
TxJim. What makes this very ironic is we are surrounded by the Great Lakes and manage to miss rainfalls that go North of us!
 
4520bw. These fires are very unusual in this area. The firefighters have already lost two fire trucks so far in this one !!
 
sorry you folx are so dry , and you gotta stsy on your toes watching for the slightest sparkn, BUT ..here in southern ind , we get rain every 3 days or sometimes 3 days in a row , hard to make hay rite ,,. wisht you folx that need rain could get and have some of our surplus,.. and yes,, WE know what its like to be 95 degres F plus temps for 20 days without rain relief ,, btdt
 
Ya'll need to buy and use those remote temp laser guns out in the field. Also be sure and park in safe area away from fields and buildings. Balers can catch fire an hour after you quit using them BTDT
 
My dad had a 40 acre wheat stubble field catch fire on the upwind side. Fire dept. couldn't stop it, but luckily a neighbor with a large tractor and disc ready to go came and saved the buildings.
 
Good News, the fire is out !! Will try to find out much wheat was lost (besides the 2 fire trucks) Thanks for the support fellas !!
 
Yes, western plains, its not unheard of to have a tractor and disk with operator on standby anytime there is machinery moving in a field. Last year, there was fire here, just happened the neighbor was working ground across the road, was able to contain it. If you have never experienced a prairie grass or grain fire they are something else.
 
I had a wheat field on fire Monday. Sheild for feederhouse chain dropped down on the shoe auger drive slip clutch, heating up the cotter pin, nut, washer and spring. The nut and spring fell off and set the stubble on fire. I didn't see anything amiss until I turned around. By that time the blaze was the size of a two car garage. I knew it was beyond the fire extiguisher I had on board so reached for the phone instead. I then tried to cut around the fire to isolate it but with no shoe augers running I had limited capacity so headed for the road.I didnt bother to check the machine until I got onto the gravel. As it turned out there was nothing burning or even warm on the machine where the clutch had come apart. The fire department arrived and knocked the fire down in a matter of minutes. The wind had been shifting around and the fire was contained mostly to the headland that had already been cut so the damage was a lot less than it could have been.
I have about 1500 gal. of water on the sprayer tanker. I think it will go to the field with me when I return.
 
I am glad I never have had a major field fire. With the prairie winds and dry conditions, I see how wild fires travel so fast.

Here is a video of a farmer getting cutting off a fire using a tractor and disk. The wind was helping him. Still would have been a scary drive.
Famer with a disk fighting a fire.
 
Dry in my part of central MI as well. Had numerous rain storms that benefited some around us, just seem to miss us every time. They break up after they come across Lake Michigan. Have had just shy of 4 tenths of rain since Memorial Day. Hope you get some soon.
 
Field fires are not unusual here in western Canada. Have seen a number of them and had to fight fire on combines a number of times. However, this year we have your rain. Got more rain last night and some of my crop has been lost to flooding. Very unusual as well for July around here. Haying has been next to impossible.
 
been a firefighter for 40 years just dont under stand how any dept can lose a fire truck YOU NEVER FIGHT A FIRE FROM THE UNBURND SIDE always from the black
 
Call when it's 110 for a month and a half with no rain for 3 months.

2012 our last rain was in June. The ruts in the dirt under the gravel were still there through the end of the year. Some pivots were walked by some agronomists from the co-op. They couldn't find a single pollinated ear of corn.
 
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