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Multiple departments battle hay fire

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari
Firefighters from Otho and Duncombe fire departments tackled burning hay Monday afternoon at 2652 235th St.

DUNCOMBE — A barn-like structure containing hay was destroyed by fire Monday afternoon in rural Webster County.

According to Dylan Hagen, an Otho volunteer firefighter, it’s believed the fire was started by spontaneous combustion, but the cause remains undetermined.

No injuries were reported.

Firefighters were dispatched to 2652 235th St. in Duncombe shortly after 2:30 p.m.

Firefighters from Otho, Duncombe, Lehigh and Vincent responded.

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari
Firefighters from Otho and Duncombe fire departments tackled burning hay Monday afternoon at 2652 235th St.

Moorland volunteer firefighters were also paged out.

“There was basically a lot of smoke coming from the hay bales,” Hagen said.

Hagen, who is also the emergency management coordinator in Hamilton County, said the owner was able to assist by using farm machinery to spread out the hay bales.

Later, four Fort Dodge firefighters were sent to the scene to assist.

The heat factored into the firefighters’ efforts to battle the blaze.

“We just made sure they had breaks when they needed to,” Hagen said. “Scott (Forbes) with emergency management (Webster County) got the Red Cross to bring in pizza for us.”

Hagen said the structure itself was comparable to a quonset.

The net assessed value of the building was $89,230, according to the Webster County assessor’s page.

The listed owners are Isakson Land Trust, of Mustang, Oklahoma.

Firefighters were still on scene as of 8:30 p.m., Hagen reported. He said crews would probably be there for another half hour.

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