A grass fire Saturday burned 100 acres off Highway 190 west of the Thompson River Bridge near Chillicothe.
Chillicothe Fire Chief Darrell Wright explained, according to a dispatch, there was a pickup truck pulling a trailer carrying hay bales and one of those bales was on fire. Wright said the grass fire started when the driver of the pickup pulled off the road.
Chillicothe firefighters responded with a pumper, a brush truck, and a UTV and upon firefighters arrival, the fire had spread. Mutual aid was requested from the Lock Springs and Chula Fire Departments along with assistance from the Department of Conservation and the Dawn Fire Department. Members of Quail Unlimited took their UTVs and water pumps to assist.
High winds and dry vegetation made it very difficult to stop the blaze, however, with help of the other departments, back burning was initiated east and south, and the fire was allowed to burn to an open bean field on the west.
Firefighters were on the scene nearly five hours Saturday afternoon. Wright said it was not immediately known who was driving the pickup pulling the hay bales.
