CHILLICOTHE, Ohio ( WCMH ) – Extremely dry conditions caused by this summer’s drought have made fighting cornfield fires even more difficult for local fire departments.
It’s the latest in a slew of challenges brought on by the drought.
“Oh my lord, I mean if we see our pasture, there’s nothing out there,” said Brice Acton, owner of Acton Family Farms in Ross County. “Worst I’ve ever seen, I’ve never seen anything like it. And the old guys are saying we’ve now surpassed anything they’ve ever seen.”
There was a fire Wednesday afternoon in a cornfield that neighbors one of Acton’s farms. He stood on top of a nearby grain facility to guide farmers who were in tractors clearing corn to stop the flames from spreading.
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“Yesterday’s fire, in a normal climate, could have been contained to a much smaller area, but with the conditions and everything being as dry as it was, we went from 0 to 25 acres in 25 minutes,” said Tristen Carter, fire chief in Concord Township.