Shuttle With 11 Tankers Used to Put Out Wis. Hay Fire

Feb. 12--HALLIE -- A lack of nearby water, windy conditions and lots of dry hay added up to a challenging fire for firefighters to put out Monday.

The fire, at 15924 10th Ave. in the town of Hallie, was reported at 7:50 a.m. Chippewa Fire District Inspection Chief John Andersen said about 750 hay bales were stacked, five high, and the middle portion caught fire through spontaneous combustion.

Without water mains close to the home, 11 tankers -- each holding between 1,700 to 4,000 gallons -- hauled water about six miles from a fire station to the site. Firefighters dumped water in temporary holding tanks, then pumped and sprayed it on top of burning hay bales. More than 200,000 gallons of water were poured on the fire over the course of about 10 hours, he said.

"We kept the fire from spreading to (a nearby) shed," Andersen said.

Extinguishing the fire was a team effort. Chippewa Fire District had four tankers hauling water and Township Fire Department of Eau Claire provided three tankers, while Cadott Tilden, Altoona and Fall Creek each provided one tanker.

"It's nice to have good mutual aid," Andersen said. "When something happens at 8 a.m. on a workday, a lot of people are unavailable."

One backhoe and two front-end loaders tore apart the hay bales while water was dumped on the massive pile of burning hay.

"These bales have been out here quite a while," Andersen said.

Along with the distance to haul water, the 30-35 firefighters at the scene also had the challenge of fighting high winds and cold temperatures, Andersen said.

"We had a very strong wind out of the northwest, and your wind chill is in the single digits," he said.

Andersen declined to estimate the cost of battling the blaze.

The farm is owned by Doug Bowe. No people or animals were injured.

Vetter can be reached at 715-723-0303 or [email protected].

Copyright 2013 - The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.