A field fire ripped through 40 acres of harvested cornstalks yesterday evening around the 1200 block of Illinois Route 167 just south of Oneida.
Oneida-Wataga Fire Chief Dustin Steck says the fire started around 5:30 p.m. in a nearby combine.
Flames jumped a fence into a cornfield and started a blaze that made enough smoke to shut down a portion of I-167 until the scene was cleared around 7:30 p.m. No injuries were reported.
Area farmers brought out tilling equipment and cleared tracks outside the fire’s perimeter to prevent flames from spreading while fire crews from Altona, Victoria, Knoxville and Henderson battled the blaze.
A number of similar field fires have sparked all week, including fires near Farmington yesterday and blazes in parts of Warren County on Monday.
Altona-Oneida-Wataga Ambulance Service and the Knox County Sheriff’s Department assisted in Knox yesterday.
Steck says the wind and dry conditions made for a difficult fire, adding, “If we wouldn’t have had area farmers and neighboring departments, it would have made our job a lot tougher.”
