Winds whip up grass fires in eastern Iowa

Fire crews are closely monitoring hundreds of acres of charred land in Benton County for flare-ups. A grass fire Wednesday forced residents near Belle Plaine out of their homes and the evacuation of two schools. Resident Betty Shippers says she was ready to vacate too if the flames approached.At least 50 firefighters spent 20 hours getting the fire under control. Resident Jim Boch says farmers tried to do what they could too to help using their implements to plow up fresh dirt to keep the grass down.It’s believed that fire was started by someone burning trash. No buildings were lost & no injuries are reported. Elsewhere, two other grass fires sprung up in Johnson County, where Solon resident Judy Gleason says firefighters saved not only her house, but her dog Flash.Some 200 acres of farmland were scorched in that grassfire. A hog confinement building was lost in the blaze which also began with someone burning trash near North Liberty.