Arcing power lines spark a ditch fire near Coburg, Wed. morning; semi’s blown off Interstates 80, 29 & 35

News

January 21st, 2026 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, IA) – Highs winds Wednesday caused power lines to gallop, arc and spark a ditch fire in Montgomery County. According to a press release from the Red Oak Fire Department, a little after 11:30-a.m., the Red Oak, Stanton, Elliott and Essex Fire Departments, as well as the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), were dispatched to the area of 270th/D Ave rural Coburg for a reported field fire.
High wind conditions quickly spread the fire along the south road ditch, as well as, extended the fire into the north picked corn field. Approximately 4 to 5 acres were burned during the incident, but no injuries were reported. MidAmerican Utilities were on scene to facilitate the necessary repairs.

Assistance from a couple area farmers was requested for tractors/disks, however, fire crews were able to extinguish the fire prior to their arrival. Additional assistance provided by: Montgomery County 911; Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Page County Communications Center. Another field fire was reported north of I-80 between Shelby and Avoca at around 3-p.m.
Winds gusting to near 60 mph made for white knuckle driving, especially for those trying to keep high profile vehicles on the road. There were several reports of semi tractor-trailers being toppled over along I-80 near Neola, I-35 at Ellsworth, and off of Highway 59, north of Defiance (to name just a few of the accident scenes).
(Photos from the Red Oak FD Facebook page)