Hay bale fires deemed suspicious

Is someone setting fire to hay stored by Mario County farmers? Two early-Monday hay bale fires less than three miles apart are being investigated as suspicious.

A fire at 180th and Remington Rd. was reported at 4:17 a.m. Firefighters monitored it nearly an hour until a landowner brought a tractor to separate burning bales from others.

Burning bales were then noticed at 190th Rd. between Quail Creek and Pawnee Rds.

Firefighters spent three hours attempting to control the two fires. When they determined the two blazes could not spread, they monitored the fires throughout the day.

Marion Fire Chief Chris Killough found the fires suspicious because of how close they were to each other and that both fires were burning at the same time.

A fire marshal was called to investigate.

Fire marshal Chris Mercer referred questions to the state office in Topeka. Officials there would say only that the situation was being investigated.