By Sarah Light, staff writer

CLARKS GROVE &8212; The Freeborn County Sheriff&8217;s Office and Clarks Grove Fire Department responded to two calls of fire Sunday at the Watonwan Farm Service grain elevator that was hit by lightning at the beginning of last week.

The first call for service came in at 12:30 a.m. Sunday when a person reported that smoke was coming from the top of the elevator.

The second call for service came in at 6:11 p.m. Sunday when it was reported that there were flames coming from the elevator.

Clarks Grove Fire Chief Carl Anderson said the calls weren&8217;t anything serious and that the fire department has been down at the site each day since the lightning struck putting out minor flames.

Anderson said they are monitoring the situation closely.

Craig Christenson, location manager at the elevator, said these incidents were a result of continued smoldering at the site, caused by the storm that damaged the 300,000-bushel cement structure and resulted in soybeans and corn spilling out of the bin.

Christenson said at this point, because of the extent of the damage from last week, it looks like the elevator will be coming down when the grain pickup is complete. This should be another week or two, he said.

WFS, a Truman-based company, recently finished a new steel grain bin at the site that will be able to hold 680,000 bushels.

This bin, and the old wood-and-corrugated steel elevator to the north at the location, will remain in place.