Fire crews from around Marion County spent Friday afternoon battling a large fire near Pershing. Shortly after noon, the Knoxville Township Rural Fire Department and Indiana Township Fire Department were dispatched to the intersection of 180th and Oregon Drive for the report of a John Deere Gator on fire. While en route, the crews were notified that the fire had spread to the surrounding cornfield. When crews arrived, they found a large fire that was spreading rapidly across harvested fields due to high winds. At this time, additional crews were requested from Knoxville Fire and Rescue, Clay Township Fire Department and Columbia Fire Department.

The fire took around two and a half hours to extinguish, covered around 220 acres, and at one point jumped the roadway and crossed Oregon Drive. Local farmers helped to extinguish the fire by pulling discs across the field. The Marion County Road Department also used a road maintainer. Crews were able to protect all houses and buildings in the area. Six grass trucks, three side-by-sides, two tankers and one engine were used to put out the fire.

Responding agencies were Knoxville Township Rural Fire Department, Knoxville Fire and Rescue, Indiana Township Fire Department, Clay Township Fire Department, Columbia Fire Department, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County Emergency Management, and the Marion County Road Department.