A fire early Tuesday consumed a large barn in rural Cowley County that was packed tight with alfalfa and Bermuda grass bales.
Around 6 a.m., fire departments from Ark City and Winfield headed to a home near the intersection of 222nd Rd. and 101st Rd. for a report of a barn fire. The fire burned hot and fast and firefighters opted to monitor it as it burned and protect another nearby storage barn.
The burning structure and bales inside it belonged to local farmer Lloyd Birdzell and his niece, Emilie Magnus.
Magnus told NewsCow that the bales had been placed inside the barn about two weeks ago. When she first heard word of the fire she expected it to be in another nearby barn that had been filled with bales in more recent days.
There was some moisture in the bales and storing them close together creates potential for combustion. Magnus and her uncle had been keeping an eye on the bales just in case a fire broke out but believed enough time had passed to eliminate a fire hazard.
The burning barn was built on the site of another barn that was destroyed by fire five years ago.
"Maybe we’re just not meant to have a barn at that spot," she said. "That one was only four years old."
Magnus couldn’t say how many bales were lost to the fire but said many large bales were destroyed.
"It was plum full, I know that," she said.
