Fire along Mount Baker Highway destroys baler, scorches half an acre of hay
A hay fire completely destroyed a baler and burned about half an acre of hay Monday afternoon in Whatcom County.
No one was injured in the fire, and the cause has been confirmed to be incidental machinery failure, according to Whatcom County Fire District 14 Chief Jerry DeBruin.
The fire was reported around 6:24 p.m. Monday near 5697 Mount Baker Highway.
DeBruin said the hay had been raked into rows and was very dry when the owner of a baler was using it to form the hay into large round bales. Something caught fire during the process, and the baler was destroyed, causing an estimated $30,000 in damages, according to DeBruin.
Wind caused the dry hay to also catch fire and spread about half an acre (about 21,780 square feet). DeBruin said firefighters were able to contain the spread without much difficulty when they arrived, although they had to employ off-road fire trucks called brush trucks to get in position.
DeBruin said they had the fire under control in about 15 minutes, and then stayed another 30 to 45 minutes to put out hot spots and mop up the rest of the fire.
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