ADAIR COUNTY, Iowa — (KCCI) A massive fire destroyed a wind turbine and burned a large farm field in Adair County Tuesday morning. The fire burned so hot it destroyed the 22-story tall structure. It consumed the nacelle that holds the generator and one giant blade, which crashed to the ground in flames. The fire eventually spread to the cornfields below. That created a giant plume of smoke that spread north toward Interstate 80. The smoke was visible for miles.

Emergency crews from Adair and surrounding towns couldn’t do much but watch the fire. They had no equipment to reach the top of the wind turbine. Officials say it’s lucky that the field was freshly plowed, and that stopped the fire spreading too far. Adair County emergency manager Robert Kempf said it was fortunate the field had already been harvested, so  no crops were lost.

MidAmerican Energy says it doesn’t have a cause for the fire, but it is investigating.