PAWNEE COUNTY — Investigation continues into the cause and total damage estimate of a large hay bale fire in Eastern Pawnee County.

Larned Fire Chief T.J. Hearn reported Wednesday morning that the department has been returning to the site at the intersection of 20th Ave. and R5 Road approximately four miles southeast of Pawnee Rock in Pawnee County to inspect for possible flare-ups from the fire that destroyed approximately 2,500 bales throughout the day Monday.

Chief Hearn noted that the department was called out at approximately 3:55 a.m. March 18. Upon arrival, firefighters immediately went to work to move unaffected bales away from the blaze and establish a fire break around the burning stack. The Larned department was assisted by Pawnee Rock and Garfield departments, working together to get the fire under control.

“It was a large fire, you could see it from the City of Larned (approximately eight miles away),” he said. With the firebreak in place, firefighters then concentrated on extinguishing the burning hay which took about the next eight hours. The fire was confined to the burning bales inside the firebreak, he noted.

Chief Hearn said that a crew has been dispatched to the site at regular intervals to check for hot spots and flare-ups. “It takes a while to get a hay bale completely extinguished,” he said. “You have to break it apart and dig around in it.”

Meanwhile, the Pawnee County Sheriff ’s Office is assisting with the investigation into the cause and damage estimates from the fire.

“Right now, the cause is still being listed as undetermined,” he said. “It will also be a while before we know how much the total loss estimate will be.