Halloween day fires keep department on road

    A pair of afternoon fire calls Saturday, which was Halloween, delayed trick-or-treating for members of the Imperial Volunteer Fire Department.
    Fire Chief Doug Mitchell said the first call was actually in the Wauneta fire district, it was realized later, but since they were already on the way, two quick attack units and command car continued on.
    A hot bearing in a combine, on ground south of the Mike Maddux place, started picked corn ground on fire, Mitchell said, along Ave. 344, north of Old Highway 6.
    Mitchell estimated about five acres burned.
    Later that afternoon, a call three and a half miles into Dundy County was in the IVFD district. Old hay in a corral started burning near the intersection of Ave. 322 and Rd. 722.
    Landowner Shane Eversole was concerned with the wind that had come up and the dry pasture to his south. He told fire officers he had burned a pile of stickers earlier in the week. Mitchell was uncertain whether that had rekindled or not.
    “We just unloaded our quick attacks on it and put it out,” he said.
    Mitchell said it was good Eversole reported it because it could have been a tough situation if it had burned into the south pasture.
No burn permits
    Although the IVFD did issue a few burn permits in its district right after last week’s snowfall, there are none being issued now, Mitchell said, until more moisture is received.
    The State Fire Marshall’s Office just issued a high fire danger warning for the entire state, so no permits will be given, he said.