July 21, 2005
Field fire
Just wanted to share some of my better news images of late. The top image ran in the paper this week. The pictures are from a fire in a dry hay field. The field was freshly mowed and bailed. Thankfully the bails were already gone. About 3 acres burned.
I'd never seen a fire in such a dry field. It ripped down a hill and up the other side, crackling as the dry six-inch stalks fueled flames that reached four or five feet in the air. The line of flame moved quickly because it was in constant need of fresh fuel.
If one didn't pay attention, it wouldn't be too hard to get cut off by the relatively innocuous fire.
One side of the dry field was bordered by a field of something green and growing (see the demarcation line in the top left of the photo below). The fire stopped right at the green plants and went no further in that direction. The fire department used one engine, one brush truck, and 10-12 firefighters to put the fire out in about 20 minutes.
