BEAR RIVER CITY -- Hundreds of tons of hay burned early Saturday morning in what is believed to be a spontaneous combustion fire.
Tremonton and Box Elder County firefighters rushed to the Bailey Hay Farm International site at 6400 N. 6744 West about 7 a.m. When they arrived, they found that a 20-foot hay stack had ignited, said Shawn Jensen, assistant fire chief for Box Elder County.
"(Hay stacks) get wet and they start to mold and they actually, when breaking down, they get hot, and when they get hot they will spontaneously combust and ignite themselves," he said.
Employees and local farmers went to work moving 1,500 tons of the surrounding hay away from the burning stack so it would not spread.
The flames reached another 10 to 15 feet into the air above the already 20-foot haystack.
After several hours and with at least 20 firefighters on scene, they had the fire mostly out. Some of the remaining hay that was not salvageable was left to burn out on its own, because "there was just too much of it," Jensen said.
Jensen estimates that the hay farm lost 700 to 800 tons of hay. At least one farmer at the scene said the hay can go for $180 a ton, he said.
"With the wet spring we had, some moisture must have gotten in there and ended up rotting the bell," he said.
The employees have sorted the remaining hay into stacks of what should be inspected and what is likely fine, he said.
At no time was the farm's main building in danger, Jensen said. The fire occurred in the northeast corner of the lot, at least 100 yards away from the main building, he said.
The farm presses the hay into cubes and ships them around the world.
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