What started as a controlled burn northeast of Emporia turned into a notable hay bale fire Sunday.
Emporia Fire was dispatched to the 1300 block of North Kansas Highway 99 after 3 pm. Emporia Fire Battalion Chief Eron Steinlage says the fire spread to over 40 large hay bales, damaging or destroying them. Firefighters did a backburn around the bales to limit the rekindle risk, especially for Monday with critical fire conditions in place. Lyon and most surrounding counties are in a red flag warning from 12-8 pm, meaning automatic burn bans.
Steinlage says there were no injuries and no damage to nearby structures.
2 pm Sunday: Americus Fire handles brush fire in city limits
Americus Fire crews handled a small brush fire in the town’s city limits as part of fire activity Sunday.
Firefighters were dispatched to the 500 block of Mulberry shortly before 1 pm. Initially, the fire was reported as five acres, but was later downsized to less than 0.10 acres.
A cause has not been listed. There are no reports of any structural damage or injuries.
Lyon County District 4, Emporia’s rural fire unit, was initially dispatched as mutual aid but was canceled shortly after the fire was reported.
