Fire Marshal says Southwest Iowa grass fire an accident

The State Fire Marshal says the massive grass fire in southwest Iowa’s Pottawattamie County this past weekend was accidentally set. The fire Sunday burned several thousand acres of land and the wind whipped flames destroyed four homes and several farm buildings. The State Fire Marshal says the fire started from a smoldering stump on the farm of Karen Hotze of rural Carson. The Fire Marshal’s report says Hotze started the fire in a dead tree on February 24th and had been monitoring it for several days. The high winds nine days later apparently revived the fire and it spread quickly in the dry conditions. The report says the Fire Marshal’s Office has conferred with the Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office, and based on the findings of the investigation, it does not appear criminal charges will be filed.