A quick moving brush fire that engulfed the ditch on the northern side of Route 30 was exstinguished before causing major damage to the surrounding area shortly after 1 p.m. 

Firefighters received the call from dispatch about a fire at 5300 Mortensen Rd., in Ames at 1:33 p.m. Firefighters extinguished the blaze quickly after arriving on the scene.

Lieutenant Nick Lucchesi of the Ames Police Department said grass fires by the highway are common.

“Usually, they’re not of this size. This was actually one of the larger ones we’ve had this year,” Lucchesi said.

Lucchesi said the fires can be caused by lit cigarettes or sparks from a tool that fell off of a truck. He said the cause of this fire was undetermined.

Dispatchers initially had trouble determining the exact location of the fire. Lucchesi said if drivers are on the highway, they should report the fire based on mile-marker. He also said firefighters were assisted in finding the location and knowing what side of the highway the fire was on by someone using the nearby address of the Mortensen Heights apartment complex.

Justin Booth, a recent graduate of Iowa State, said he noticed the fire as he was pulling up to his apartment building. He said because the smoke was white, he assumed it was not a structure fire and may be an intentional fire to clear brush or dead crops.

Booth said the dispatcher told him they had received many calls and appeared to be frustrated at an inability to get an exact location. Booth said first responders were on the scene six minutes after he called.

“I come up, just to check it out, and it was right under a [apartment building] sign, so I figured they wouldn’t do that on purpose,” Booth said. “The percentage of the scorched area would have definitely tripled in [six minutes] time.”