Wind fuels hay bale fire west of Imperial

    Firefighters from Imperial and Lamar were on the scene of a hay fire west of Imperial Monday and Tuesday this week.
    Imperial Chief Doug Mitchell said the initial call Monday about 1:15 p.m. took them west of town to Donnie and Nick Schilke’s farm, where they were putting up ground hay bales.
    A bearing on the hay grinder became hot, starting the fire in the ground hay, Mitchell said.
    The fire departments were on scene until 6:30 p.m., but left one truck there as a precaution. The wind out of the south changed a little later, and a call back from personnel on the scene prompted Mitchell to dispatch the trucks again at 8 p.m. Firefighters returned about 10 p.m.
    “Our concern were the 400 bales stacked nearby. We wanted to stop any spread to them,” he said.
    A shift in the wind Tuesday  had the owners call with concerns, Mitchell said. The hay was still smoldering and smoking, and the uptick in the wind was sending embers into the air, he said, and in the direction of a nearby home.
    He dispatched trucks again, as did Lamar, about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. More water and foam were applied, and two payloaders owned by the Schilkes helped break up the hay, he said.
    Firefighters left the scene around 8 p.m.
    The Imperial department was also called Saturday to a small pasture fire in northern Dundy County on Hester Foundation ground. It was along the south line of Imperial’s fire district, south of 720 Road and 322 Avenue.
    Mitchell said they believe a four-wheeler caused the fire that burned about 15 acres.