HOISINGTON — “It’s amazing just how dry it still is out there, even after the rain,” Hoisington Fire Chief Jerry Stricker said Friday morning.
Hoisington volunteer firefighters were called to a grass fire at 350 NW 100 Rd. at 2:14 p.m. Thursday. The owner of the property discovered the fire, which had started near the roadway, and attempted to put it out himself with a shovel. The fire, however, began to spread.
With little wind, firefighters were able to contain the fire quickly, Stricker said. He estimated the area consumed by the fire to be less than one acre.
“It traveled through a fenced area where some pallets and railroad ties were stored, and burned two inoperable vehicles of undetermined value the owner had stored there,” he said.
The fire made it past the property line and was headed toward the creek before firefighters brought it under control. He estimated this was done within 30 minutes.
The cause of the fire is unknown, Stricker said, but starting that close to the roadway, it could have come from a cigarette. He cautioned that the fire ban is still in effect and that property owners and passersby need to be vigilant of any sign of fire.

Rural Great Bend fire
Elsewhere in Barton County, an unauthorized burn got out of control briefly Thursday afternoon in the 400 block of SE 30 Ave., Great Bend Fire Chief Luke McCormick said. The fire was out before firefighters arrived. It was started by someone burning yard waste, which would not have been authorized.
A temporary county-wide burn ban remains in effect. Fire departments are working with people who need to conduct Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) burns on a case-by-case basis.