DRAGGING BALES - A Stuart and O'Neill Fire Truck drag bales apart that caught on fire southwest of Emmet on Saturday afternoon. Photo Courtesy Kathy Marvin.

Baler Fires Continue To Plague Area

Weekend fires again plagued area departments. On Friday afternoon the O'Neill department was called to a grass fire east of the O'Neill city dump. The cause of the fire was construction personnel cutting the guide wires on the old microwave tower. At 4:00 p.m. the Ewing department called for mutual aid from O'Neill for a fire started by a baler three miles south of the weigh station. The departments returned to their respective stations around 6:00 p.m.

On Saturday at 11:30 a.m. the O'Neill department was called back to the microwave tower but the crew at the tower had already extinguished the fire. At 12:00 p.m. a grass fire was reported to the dispatch center south west of Emmet. The fire was caused by a baler. O'Neill Atkinson, Stuart and the Page departments were called to the scene. Assisting with water delivery were Ag Services, and Cole Redi Mix, Seger Grain, and Rossman Trucking. The departments remained on scene for six hours. The fire burned close to 100 hay bales and some of the hay meadow and into a shelterbelt. At around 6 p.m. a lightning strike ignited a small grass fire north of Inman. There was very little damage and the department remained on scene for a half an hour.

The Lynch Volunteer Fire Department had their hands full fighting fires on Monday evening. (A week ago last Monday, Aug. 31). The first call came at 6:30 p.m. of the barn burning at the Kirk Hansen place east of Lynch. "We could see the barn was totally engulfed in flames before we got there," said fire chief Rick Black. "As we were turning into the yard, the structure collapsed."

Before the fire was out, the firemen received notice of a prairie fire burning five miles north of Lynch. Leaving two trucks and personnel at the barn fire, they went back to Lynch and north to fight that fire.

While fighting the fire north of town, smoke was seen rising south of Lynch.

The Spencer Fire Department was called for mutual aid. They responded to the fire south of Lynch while the Lynch firemen worked to put out the fire north of Lynch, which burned approximately five acres.

Then the Lynch firemen also headed for the fire south of Lynch. The fire destroyed between 35 and 40 acres on the hills north of the Niobrara River.

After putting out that fire, they returned to the barn fire and made sure everything was well-soaked down. It was 10 p.m. when they returned to the Lynch Firehall in a soaking rain. It is believed all the fires were caused by lightning.

"There was plenty of sharp lightning while we were fighting the fire south of town and back at the barn," says Black. "We were glad we got that shot of rain to help cool things down."