It was my fault!
It was a controlled burn. A lot of dry plant material was building up on the perimeter of our homestead. I decided to burn it up to start the year. It removes the dry stuff, burns up weed seeds, and adds carbon back to the soil. Plus, the black color will heat up quicker this spring, raising the soil temperature and causing the remaining plants to spring up more quickly. We had to be careful, but the fire did look pretty cool. Enjoy the photos!