Recent rain has curbed wildfires in some parts of
Dr. Jon Barry is a forester and volunteer firefighter in southwestern
"There are two types of problems that we see with hay bales. The first issue is when they’re not properly dried before they’re stored in the barn. If [bales] are stacked in the barn before they’re properly dried, then they start generating their own heat and can generate enough heat to set themselves on fire in the barn,” said Barry. “The second issue is when a farmer is baling hay and [a malfunction] starts a fire and as it burns across the field it sets bales of hay on fire.”
Barry says fires usually start in a hay field when a baler hits a rock and creates sparks.
Mechanical problems with a baler can also set a hay bale on fire while it’s in the machine and that blaze can then spread once the bale comes in contact with loose hay on the ground.
Barry admits round bales of hay that are aflame are difficult to put out, because of how they’re rolled and the grass they’re made of.
