Two young men who had escaped from the Clarinda Academy late this morning have been located. Additional details on where the youth were found is currently not available. A law enforcement broadcast went out a little after 11-a.m. about the Clarinda Academy Juvenile Center escapees.

At the time, the escapees, one of whom was black, the other white, were last seen near 140th Street and P Avenue, heading north on foot out of Clarinda.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports there was an escape this (Monday) morning from the Clarinda Academy Juvenile Center located in Clarinda. The escapees are believed to be on foot north of Clarinda last seen in the area of 140th St. (J-20) and P Avenue.

One of the escapees is a black male, red sweatshirt, camouflage shorts, black Under Armor Backpack, Red/White Nike Tennis Shoes. The second escapee is a white male, 5’10”, eyeglasses, blue sweatshirt, gray sweatpants and red shoes. Do not approach. If you see these individuals contact your nearest law enforcement agency immediately.

A grass/field fire northeast of Exira Sunday afternoon burned 150 acres, but no one was injured. Exira Fire Chief Mike Bintner told KJAN News the blaze was reported just before 1-p.m., and crews remained on the scene for about 3 ½ hours. Mutual aide was received from the Brayton, Audubon, Coon Rapids, Kimballton and Guthrie Center Fire Departments. No structures were damaged by the fire.

The fire began just north of a residence off of 250^th Street and quickly spread to just north 240^th Street, where the blaze was brought under control. Bintner says the fire began with a rekindled burn that was initiated on Saturday. He says the resident was burning garbage in a burn pit north of their home Saturday. Sunday’s winds whipped some of the remaining hot items out of the pit and spread them to the nearby field.

Weather conditions today are expected to be dry and very windy. Bintner said anyone planning to burn should take the weather into consideration, and take the necessary precautions regardless of the weather. That includes call the fire station and your local county dispatch center to inform them about any controlled burns He says there is no burn ban yet in Audubon County, but it is being considered. In the meantime, property owners need to be responsible and no start any fires when the weather is dry and windy.

Bintner was grateful for the help his department received from the area firefighters, and said everyone really worked well together. He was also very appreciative of the area farmers, who used their disc implements to help prevent the spread of the fire.

(8-a.m. News)