A collection of Monday night fires near Albion has been deemed suspicious.
Marshall County Emergency Management Director Kim Elder said 50 firefighters from six departments – Albion, Marshalltown, State Center, Liscomb, Haverhill and Clemons – responded to a series of blazes, as well as law enforcement. Elder was on scene for two hours.
“With this weather, the high winds and low humidity, the long grass and dry areas, it would not have taken much at all for this to spread farther,” she said. “I can’t say enough about those who responded, 90 percent of whom are volunteers.”
As of 8:30 a.m., Tuesday, Elder said most of the fires were extinguished, but a few were being allowed to burn out. The radio system Elder utilizes was being updated by RACOM, so she did not have the most efficient communication. All of the information she received was given to her via telephone.