1/7/2010:
An strange situation was playing out three miles west of Jamestown on this date in 1966. Workers of the J. T. Garvey elevator were charged with finding a missing fire that had been burning for almost two months. But how in the world can a fire be missing you ask?
Well, the fire in this instance was located inside of a large, steel grain bin. The bin held 820,000 bushels of grain, making it not only full to the brim, but also a large pain for anyone trying to find a fire. In mid-November, an auger placed into the bin became overheated. Soon thereafter, smoke began to issue from the grain, signaling to elevator workers that they had a problem. Firefighters were called, but they were unable to locate the source of the smoke - there was just no way to get to the internal area of the stored grain. Finding themselves up against a brick wall, firefighters recommended sealing the bin and waiting the fire out. The idea was that by sealing in the smoke, the fire, wherever it was, would be starved of oxygen and die out. A month later, the bin was reopened, but unsuspecting workers were nearly burned, as flames leapt out from the bin. Ron Stuckey, manager of the elevator, realized that more drastic measures would have to be taken.
Just after Christmas, workers began removing grain from the bin. After filling fifty-one available railcars, and still not locating the source of the fire, Stuckey was forced to make the unusual and difficult decision to dump 100,000 bushels on the ground.
Unfortunately, even after removing 250,000 bushels, the fire still remained elusive. Stuckey predicted that an additional 300,000 bushels would have to be removed in the coming weeks. "Our work is cut out for us for the time being," he added.
Rest assured, the fire was eventually found ... we know that, because it's not still burning today, 44 years later!
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Sources:
Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. Friday (Evening ed.), January 7, 1966: p.5.