HUMBOLDT, Iowa --
An Iowa farmer was severely burned in a fire on his 80th birthday Thursday.
Humboldt County Sheriff Dean Kruger said fire crews were called at 2:15 p.m. to a farm 5 miles west of Humboldt at Florida Avenue and 240th Street.
Lloyd Goodell, 80, was working in his field alone when a fire broke out. He was on a tractor cutting cornstalks at the time.
Kruger said a fellow farmer who also had a fire in his field earlier in the morning saw the smoke and called 911.
When emergency responders arrived, Goodell was burned on his arms, legs and face. Goodell was able to talk to rescue workers.
Kruger said it's not known yet how the fire started.
Goodell was taken to the Humboldt County Memorial Hospital and later taken to the University of Iowa burn unit by Mercy One helicopter.
Thursday was Goodell's 80th birthday. His current condition is not yet available.
Kruger said numerous farmers with tractors and disc rippers assisted in the rescue as well as fire departments from Humboldt, Gilmore City and Clare.
The fire was one of more than eight reported in Humboldt County and dozens more reported across northern Iowa on Thursday afternoon as wind gusts pushed 50 mph across the region.
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