March 27--A large grass fire Monday afternoon burned through several miles of Clay County east and north of Oak Hill.
Sheriff Chuck Dunn described the fire as "a controlled burn that got out of control that wasn't called in." It started on property near Ninth and Frontier roads, spread up to 14th Road, and over to Granite Road. About half of what burned last year in a big fire southwest of Idana, Dunn said.
The Sheriff's Department received the call and dispatched fire fighters to the scene at 2:30 p.m. Monday, March 26. Firefighters were fighting the grass fire "on and off" until about 7:30 p.m., Dunn said.
"It wasn't all the way through," he said. "We'd get it out and it would start back up again."
Firefighters from rural fire departments out of Longford, Wakefield, Miltonvale and Clay Center Rural responded to the fire, Dunn said. About 50 firefighters and two dozen fire trucks assisted in fighting the fire. CPS also sent out a few of their fertilizer trucks with water tanks to assist in fighting the fire, he said.
Farmers and landowners burning off pasture and grass are reminded that while such controlled burns are allowed, they need to let the Sheriff's Department know that they are burning. Failure to do so is a misdemeanor.
Copyright 2012 - Clay Center Dispatch, Kan.
