With winds consistently out of the Northwest at 35-40 mph on Friday, November 1, plus the ground being dry following the snow earlier that week in the area, conditions for a wildfire were optimum. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened in Lewellen as Fire Chief David Dymak recalled his department getting a call just past 11:00 a.m. that morning reporting a grass fire had broken out on Road 70 and Road 189.
Jumping into action immediately, the Lewellen Volunteer Fire District began battling the blaze, but the adverse weather conditions kept the fire spreading at an extremely fast rate. A distress call was sent out to surrounding community fire departments to help stop the wildfire, and 14 others showed up on scene.