Didn't know wheat harvest came with fire risk. I know about the dangers of grain silos but I didn't know the harvest itself was risky.

Oh yeah. It’s a constant threat.

The wheat is harvested “dry”. The plant dies and dries out. The drier the better. Moisture leads to mold in the silos and clogs up the harvesters.

The wheat is harvested by “combines” which are literally a combination harvester and thresher. Both machines are extremely complex.

They’re used at 110% capacity to beat the fall rains then sit rotting for 9-10 months. Lots of seized bearings or broken bits of machines sparking and starting fires.

The grain trucks I drove had their air conditioners removed to discourage idling and the exhaust pipes dumped directly in front of the rear tires to auto-snuff exhaust fires.