Volunteer firefighters from seven different agencies responded to a field fire just outside of Le Grand on Wednesday afternoon. The blaze spread to two properties and resulted in the total loss of a metal shed.

LE GRAND — Volunteer fire departments in eastern Marshall and western Tama counties had a busy afternoon Wednesday as they responded to a large fire that spread to two rural properties near Le Grand, including the loss of a 30’x40′ shed.

Le Grand Fire Chief Todd Parrish told the T-R his department was called at about 2:12 p.m. to respond to a field fire around the southeast corner of town.

“When we arrived, we found a large fire with lots of smoke spreading northeasterly from the corner of town there,” he said.

The Tama, Toledo, Montour, Gilman, Ferguson and Green Mountain fire departments all assisted at the scene, according to Parrish. Due to the high winds, the blaze spread quickly and wound up in a few residential yards on AA Avenue just over the county line into Tama County, and one residence lost the aforementioned metal sided shed as a result along with damage to a neighboring building as well.

“We were able to save, at least, the structure of the second building. It’s got damage to it, but it’s safe,” Parrish said. “None of the homes out here were affected. We were able to get it knocked over before it spread to any of the residences.”

As of Wednesday evening, Parrish said he wasn’t comfortable speculating on the cause of the fire without further investigation, but he guessed that damages to the buildings alone were north of $50,000.

“There were a couple of older vehicles and some other stuff in it, so I’m gonna have to do some more work with the property owner before I can get those kinds of estimates and we have that information. Everything’s kind of preliminary at this point,” he said.

There were no injuries due to the fire, and only one of the two affected properties sustained major damages. Parrish advised residents to follow Red Flag warnings and avoid burning on windy days like Wednesday.

“The results can just be catastrophic,” he said.