Lang
3/16/25
The North Liberty Fire Department says two Friday night blazes in the Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area were both caused by lightning strikes.
Fire departments from North Liberty, Solon, Tiffin and Oxford were called to a fire in an area near the intersection of Greencastle Avenue and Swan Lake Road…south of Wisniewski Pond…at 7:35 Friday night. Evacuations were initially ordered, but were rescinded a short time later. All units were cleared from the scene around 10:30 p.m.
The North Liberty Fire Department posted on Facebook that the fire was started by a lightning strike from Friday night’s storms and fueled by wind gusts up to 80 miles per hour. A second fire near Half Moon Avenue was reportedly caused by another lightning strike.
Firefighters from departments in North Liberty, Oxford, Tiffin, Amana, Swisher, Solon, Williamsburg, West Branch and Hills were called to the same area for vegetation fires on Thursday. The Oxford Fire Department reports at one point approximately 120 acres were burning in Thursday’s fires. There were no reported injuries. The Department of Natural Resources has since said the Thursday blaze was started when a controlled burn grew out of control.