Lightning is believed to have been the cause of a fire that burned up several hundred bales of hay north of Scottsbluff Monday night.
Scottsbluff Rural Fire was called to the scene shortly after 6:30 p.m., finding a large stack of bales burning along Lake Minatare Road and County Road 22.
Fire Chief Carissa Schank tells KNEB News the Gering Rural and Mitchell Volunteer Fire Departments responded with mutual aid, and as of just before midnight, 319 hay bales had been destroyed at a estimated loss of $100,000.
Schank says a neighbor told fire officials they thought they saw lightning strike shortly before the fire started.
