Crews fight grass fires along I-380

SWISHER - A large grass fire was quickly maintained Tuesday afternoon near Swisher, one of three that were reported today.

After 1 p.m., fire fighters with the Jefferson-Monroe Fire Department (JMFD) arrived at the grass fire, which had quickly burned hundreds of feet of dry field grass at the I-380 North on-ramp.

One motorist reported that just before noon, a line of flames could be seen running up the ditch along the interstate before emergency squads had arrived.

But by 1:20 p.m. a crew was still hosing down a few smoking patches along the roadway.

A responder with JMFD said at one point the flames were up to six feet high in parts, and that the grass and other matter in the area was completely dry prior to burning. He said he suspected the winds played a part in the fire.

The North Liberty Fire Department aided in Swisher, and some crews headed off to aid the Cedar Rapids Fire Department, who aided Swisher in fighting a larger grass fire at mile marker 12, north along I-380, they said.

According to Greg Buelow, spokesperson with the CRFD, the fire was encroaching upon the fence line of a corn field. Crews spent roughly forty minutes maintaining the fire, which he estimated had burned three acres.

The company was initially called out after 12:45 to a smaller grass fire southbound on I-380 at Wright Brothers Boulevard. He said an acre burned on the west side of the southbound lanes, but was out about twenty minutes later.

The cause of the fires are undetermined, Buelow said. But he noted there haven't been a lot of grass fires lately. He advised everyone should dispose of any smoking materials appropriately.

"When you continue to have dry conditions and any amount of winds, it can be a problem," he said.