Wind turbine fire in Mechanicsville could cost farmer millions [Video]

MECHANICSVILLE, Iowa (KCRG) – A farm in Mechanicsville must clean up its third wind turbine fire in less than a year and a half.

Lightning strikes caused all three.

Now the farm’s owners are trying to figure out what’s next.

A Cedar County ordinance requires wind turbines that aren’t producing energy must be taken down within the year.

While the turbine’s owners have to take care of that, the damage left behind is the responsibility of the land owner.

After the wind turbine’s blade fell to the ground, debris from the turbine coated the surrounding farmland.

“I don’t really know how you ever clean it up, especially since the longer you wait the harder it is to cleanup. And since there’s so much still here I don’t know what we’re gonna do with it,” said Sally Freeman, the farm’s owner.

Freeman is now dealing with her third turbine fire, and she’s learned from experience that …