NEBRASKA CITY – A dozen or more farmers broke away from their harvesting Sunday to help stop an advancing field fire that winds drove across crops and a county road.

Wind gusts up to 40 mph fanned the fire from O Road about five miles south of Nebraska City across the mile section and across N Road.

Fire started near property owned by the Veda Bennett estate and spread northwesterly to corn and beans on fields owned by Robert Trail. The fire appeared Sunday to be contained to about 500 acres.

The fire crossed N Road, but heavy discing and rural fire departments from Nebraska City, Peru and Talmage stopped it there.

In addition to farmers working fields in Trail's mile section, other farmers gathered equipment downwind of the fire to respond as needed.

The extent of crop damage is being assessed. The wind pushed the fire so quickly through the Trail cornfield that mostly dry leaves were singed, but the corn was left standing.