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Man burned in wheat field fire
WILTON, N.D. (AP)--A farmer here was seriously burned in a wheat field fire after his combine apparently sparked the blaze, authorities said. Wes Doepke, 39, was transported to a Bismarck hospital July 30 and then airlifted to a burn center in Minnesota. He was listed in serious condition Aug. 1. Dirk Erasmus, Doepke's hired hand, said his boss suffered burns to his face and torso. The Wilton Fire Department responded to two wheat field fires July 30 that were sparked by Doepke's combine. The first fire started at about 2:30 p.m and scorched about 82 acres. The second fire--and the one that injured Doepke--happened about 8 p.m., and burned about 160 acres. Doepke's combine was destroyed. Erasmus said the first fire was started when a battery in the combine exploded. Doepke made some repairs to the combine and washed it down after the first fire, Erasmus said. "We replaced the battery, and everything looked fine," Erasmus said. "We don't even know what happened." Erasmus said it took about 80 seconds to reach Doepke after they noticed his combine was on fire. "One of the guys took off right away with him and put him in the pickup," Erasmus said. An ambulance met them on the way to Bismarck and transported Doepke to St. Alexius Medical Center. He was later airlifted to Ramsey Burn Center in St. Paul. On July 31, another wheat field fire was sparked by a combine about a mile from where Doepke was injured. There were no injuries in that fire, which blackened about 360 acres of wheat, authorities said. Date: 8/23/07
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