(Radio Iowa) – Woodbury County firefighters spent Sunday trying to contain a massive field fire near Anthon. County Emergency Manager Rebecca Socknat says a farmer working in the field northwest of Anthon set it on fire around 12:30 in the afternoon,  She says he was combining and that ignited the field and in the extremely dry and windy conditions, the fire took off. Socknat says the fire quickly spread through the field.

Socknat says the fire traveled north at least three miles across county roads and she was told at its widest point it was about a mile to a mile-and-a-half wide. Every fire department in the county except for the Sioux City and Sergeant Bluff fire departments responded to the fire along with several Plymouth County departments. No home were damaged and no one was injured — but farm equipment, utility poles and several cornfields burned up.  Crews were out working to replace the damaged utility poles.

A massive fire in Story County yesterday tore across a cornfield between Maxwell and Nevada. It took four hours to control. Investigators say that fast-moving fire may have been sparked by a smoldering cigarette tossed in a ditch. Fourteen Iowa counties now have burn bans in place.