A burning silage pile sent clouds of thick, black smoke drifting across farm fields as it burned northwest of town on Friday, July 13.

Fire crews received the call for a fire off Lammers Road near Bethany Road at 2:19 p.m.

According to Tracy Fire Department Division Chief Andrew Kellogg, a farmer was using a front-loader to spread out a pile of smoldering silage, organic material left to ferment into livestock feed.

While the farmer was spreading the pile, Kellogg said, the front-loader developed a mechanical issue. When the wind began to pick up, embers were blown out that ignited the pile.

The flames reached two piles of split tires, which also caught fire, sending a plume of black smoke into the sky, a column that was visible from the center of Tracy.

The tires were weighing down a tarp that normally covered the silage pile, according to Kellogg.

When Tracy fire crews reached the scene, Kellogg said they found the remnants of a silage pile that was burning, two piles of tires burning and a front-loader that was burning.

Kellogg said the two tire piles were about 20 feet long by eight feet wide, stacked up to a height of about five feet.

The fire department had three fire engines and a water tender on scene to put out the fire, a task that took about 30 minutes.

No structures on the farm were damaged.

Kellogg said there was no monetary estimate on the silage pile loss, but the front-loader that was damaged was valued at $30,000.