Wind turbine catches fire at Iberdrola wind farm in Emington, Illinois
EIR-0868Provisional entry. This entry is based on a single local blog report citing resident accounts from the time; no official Iberdrola statement, fire department report or independent news source has been found to confirm the cause, extent of damage or duration of the fire. No further update is scheduled; the entry stays provisional until new information is published.
On the evening of 24 May 2015 a wind turbine caught fire at the Iberdrola Renewables Streator Cayuga Ridge South Wind Power Project near Emington in Livingston County, Illinois. Local residents reported seeing the turbine burning and travelled to the site to observe. Fire crews attended but reportedly acted only in a traffic control capacity; the reason for this is not reported. The blades continued to turn freely while burning. Trucks from Iberdrola arrived after the fire crews had left the scene, with the turbine still alight, before departing again. The incident occurred amid a tornado watch and rising winds in the area, and came ten days after a similar turbine fire at Iberdrola's Locust Ridge II wind farm in Iowa.
Not reported.
- When fire services attend a burning turbine but cannot directly tackle the blaze, clear pre-agreed roles and communication between operator and emergency services help manage risk to nearby people and property.
- Operators should maintain a visible and sustained on-site presence and communicate a clear status update to emergency services and affected residents during an active turbine fire, rather than departing before the incident is resolved.
- Recurrence of similar fires across a fleet within a short period should prompt operators to review possible common causes such as component design, maintenance intervals or environmental exposure.
Published 2026-09-15. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.