Fire in SE Wis. destroys 7 to 10 acres of wheat - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

TOWN OF YORKVILLE (WKOW) – A fire in a southeastern Wisconsin wheat field has destroyed seven to 10 acres of crop.

Fire officials responded to a reported fire Friday afternoon in the Town of Yorkville.  Yorkville is about 10 miles west of Racine.

Authorities said by the time firefighters arrived, six to seven acres of mostly unharvested crop were ablaze.

According to the Journal Times of Racine, about 30 firefighters battled the flames for about 90 minutes before extinguishing the fire.

Assistant chief with the Union Grove-Yorkville Fire Department Tim Allen said the fire began as workers were harvesting the crop.

Allen said that sometimes the plant matter gets stuck in a combine and overheats.  He speculates that the combine shot out some smoldering bits of chaff onto the dry field and ignited the fire.