Despite snow, it’s dry out there; IVFD battles 68-acre grass fire

    Recent snows brought some needed moisture, but a fire Saturday morning indicates it’s back to some dry conditions in this area.
    The Imperial Volunteer Fire Department spent two hours on the scene of a fire Friday afternoon, about 25 miles southwest of Imperial, in some of the far reaches of its district.
    Second Asst. IVFD Chief Kelsey Weiss said even with a lot of snowfall the past few weeks, “It’s super, super dry out there.”
    The call came in about 10:20 a.m. Saturday, Weiss said, and was just about a mile south of another fire they fought in January.
    Weiss said it started when a bolt on a power pole insulator worked its way out during high winds, and fell to the ground in the middle of a pasture. The pasture was on the line of three different property owners, he said.
    It spread quickly from there  in the dry grass, he said, eventually burning 68 acres of pasture.
    Also responding to the scene were the Lamar and Wauneta, Colorado fire departments.
    This area is currently in a high fire danger alert, Weiss said, so he and other IVFD firefighters are hoping the wind stays down this week.
Accident call Friday
    The IVFD, Imperial EMS and the Chase County Sheriff’s Office responded to a one-vehicle accident Friday afternoon, east of Enders on Highway 6, about 12:30 p.m.
    Sheriff Kevin Mueller said Paula Stinson, 69, of Palisade was driving the vehicle when it left the road, drove into a ditch and stopped, after an apparent medical emergency.
    She was transported to Chase County Community Hospital by ambulance, where she was pronounced dead.
    IVFD 1st Asst. Chief Brad Wheeler said they assisted EMS at the scene, and also helped with traffic control.
    Sheriff Mueller said the accident happened at mile marker 36.