It was a busy few days for volunteer fire fighters with the Country Fire Service (CFS) responding to blazes in Wye and Coles.
At around 11am on Friday, December 8, seven CFS trucks carrying 35 crew members responded to reports of a fire which spontaneously combusted in a large silage of cattle feed at Wye.
Crews managed to quickly contain the fire, and save a tractor which was partially impacted.
While no one was injured, the estimated damage bill for the tractor is $100,000, while around 6000 tonnes of cattle feed was destroyed in the blaze.
Then just before 10am on Sunday, December 10, CFS crews were alerted to a large haystack fire at a farm on Charcutt Road at Coles.
Around 25 firefighters on four trucks and a bulk water carrier were dispatched to the fire and managed to bring it under control.
Farm machinery was saved, and an active sprinkler system was also pivotal in stopping the fire from impacting sheep and livestock on the farm.
Firefighters reduced the damages to 250 bales and a shed – or around $75,000.
Crews remained on the property to pull apart and remove the other hay bales with an excavator, ahead of another series of hot days.
The CFS would like to remind everyone that despite the recent rains, much of the eastern part of South Australia will see hot weather return, so have a current Bushfire Survival Plan and prepare and clear your property from fire hazards.
