Farm machinery fire spreads to field in Bolivia
BOLIVIA, NC (WECT) – A spark from a hay bailer is to blame for about eight acres of hay going up in flames Friday afternoon, according to the man whose hay burned.
William Willits from Mill Creek Farm Supply in Bolivia said he was bailing his hay when something sparked and spread to about 40 bales of hay, valued at about $1,600. He said he worked to try to stop the fire from damaging his equipment and nearby homes, but it went up so quickly he couldn’t put it out on his own.
"That's all it takes with this stuff,” said Travis Murrell, Bolivia’s assistant fire chief. “A little bit at the top and it goes like a wildfire, no problem.”
Murrell said even though there was plenty of rain Wednesday, Thursday’s high temperatures dried out the hay.
“You can put your finger in the ground and it's dry again so we actually need more rain," he said.
It took firefighters a few hours to get the flames under control. They put out several thousand gallons of water to make sure the fire did not spread. Murrell said flames reached 10 to 20 feet high.
Boiling Spring Lakes, Winnabow and Bolivia fire departments were at the scene, along with the N.C. Forestry Service.
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