Prairie fires extinguished

Journal staff

Various rural firefighters from Haakon, Mellette and Jackson counties jump-started their weekend by knocking down two prairie fires Thursday and Friday.

A Friday afternoon blaze charred 100 acres and destroyed a pickup in northwest Mellette County, according to authorities.

Jackson County Sheriff Ray Clements said mechanical problems from the pickup ignited the fire about 2 p.m. Friday, which burned up the truck, then quickly spread through the thick, cured grasses southwest of Jackson County into northwest Mellette County. Members of volunteer fire departments from Kadoka, Belvedere and Mellette County brought the fire under control.

Another mechanical problem was to blame for a Thursday evening prairie fire near Midland.

Fire Chief Reuben Vollmer said a fire started from the heat of a catalytic converter. Three units of the Midland Volunteer Fire Department responded about 5:30 p.m. Thursday at a prairie fire on the Lawrence Schofield and Vincent Schofield ranches. Vollmer said a half-dozen support vehicles arrived to beat down the blaze, including a tractor and loader. No injuries or loss of vehicles were reported, he said.

"It was so dark when we got there, so I couldn't say how much it burned," Vollmer said.