Farmers urged to maintain equipment to avoid brush fires as Illinois harvest season begins

STILLMAN VALLEY, Ill. (WTVO) — As harvest season begins, dry conditions are increasing the risk of brush fires in the area, prompting warnings from local fire officials.

The warm and dry weather, combined with open fields, creates a perfect environment for fires to spread quickly. Even small fires can become dangerous under these conditions, they say.

“Brush fires are one of those things that seem like they’re under control a lot of times, but in an instant, the wind can change and they can be out of control,” said Chief Chad Hoefle of the Stillman Valley Fire Department.

Hoefle expressed concern that fire resources might be stretched thin due to the increased risk of fires during this dry season.

“Fire departments are going to be calling resources from all over, and we might not have enough resources when it’s this dry to take care of all the fires that are happening in the county,” he said.

Field fires are often caused by farm equipment, such as combines, catching fire. Hoefle advised farmers to ensure their equipment is properly maintained and to have fire extinguishers on hand.

“Some simple things that farmers can do to help prevent fires is make sure that one all their equipment has proper maintenance on it. Aside from preventative maintenance, have some way to extinguish the fire as well,” he said.

Jeremy Doetch, a farmer in Poplar Grove, emphasized the importance of maintenance to prevent fires.

“Maintenance is really key. What we found, when farm machinery catches on fire, it’s usually due to a bad bearing or some kind of electrical connection,” Doetch said.

The Stillman Valley Fire Department conducts daily training to prepare for brush fires. “Brush fires, there’s usually not a huge risk to the general population, but it is to people’s property. And that’s important for us to make sure that we handle that with respect and with the proper skill and training that we’re supposed to with those fires,” Hoefle said.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WTVO. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WTVO staff before being published.