MT. VERNON — The Grant County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported hay truck fire on Tuesday evening, Sept. 12, near milepost 147 on Highway 26, just west of Mt. Vernon.

Units from the Mt. Vernon Fire Department responded and found a tilt-deck trailer load of hay on fire, according to a press release from Sheriff Todd McKinley. The driver, Tucker Wright, of Canyon City, reported the incident and was able to separate his pickup from the trailer before the fire spread to the tow vehicle, McKinley said.

Traffic was blocked in the area for about two hours as equipment from L&L Excavating was brought in to move the hay and the damaged trailer, the sheriff said.

Oregon Department of Transportation workers later arrived on scene and took over traffic control as Oregon State Police troopers were unavailable, McKinley said.

Fortunately, he added, the incident occurred in an area where there was a limited threat of the fire spreading and creating further problems, he said.

The hay was expected to smolder for some time, and Mt. Vernon Fire units planned to monitor it and apply additional water as needed, McKinley said.

The sheriff expressed his thanks to all those who responded and assisted with the fire, as well as the adjacent property owner who allowed the use of the land in the efforts.