ABOUT 600 bales were destroyed in a haystack fire at Glenlee on Thursday, prompting the Country Fire Authority to once again remind people to monitor haystacks.
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The incident follows a string of haystack fires across the region during the past week.
Country Fire Authority District 17 operations officer Alfred Mason said the fire at Glenlee was caused by spontaneous combustion.
“It was all in one huge haystack of about 600 bales. The crews ran a rake across the top of it, but they couldn’t get too close because of the heat,” he said.
“All the hay was destroyed. It’s a big loss for the farmer – they put a lot of labour and effort into getting it all together and too lose it all is horrible.”
Mr Mason urged farmers to be vigilant, and not just on days of hot weather.
“All we can ask is that land owners monitor and check out their stacks. If they are too hot, pull the apart as much as they can,” he said.
“We’ve had instances recently when farmers notice the heat and pull it apart, but it still burns in the smaller stacks. There are high sugar and moisture levels in the hay so spontaneous combustion is a natural occurrence.”
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a cooler weekend for the Wimmera, with temperatures expected to reach a maximum of 29 degrees in Horsham on Saturday and a top of 33 on Sunday.