The Saline County Sheriff’s Office and a couple of the county Rural Fire Districts had a busy Thursday stopping fires from spreading, as Sheriff Roger Soldan says his agency responded to four different fires in less than seven hours.

The first fire occurred in the 3400 block of S. Amos Rd at 9:54 a.m., Thursday. The resident had a permit to burn a brush pile, however, the accelerating winds caused the fire to get out of control. The fire spread to a neighbor’s property, but was extinguished by Rural Fire District No. 1 before any serious damage was done.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to a small ditch fire at 2468 E. Farrelly Rd. at 12:30 p.m. Rural Fire District No. 2 responded and quickly put the flames to rest. No significant damage is reported and authorities are unsure of how the fire started.

Another controlled burn quickly became out of control at 12:58 p.m. in the 3200 block of E. Spillman Rd. The resident had a permit for a controlled burn in his field, but once again due to escalating winds, the fire got out of his control. The resident had even dug a “fire break” around the field, but the flames jumped over it and spread in to a neighbor’s property. The fire destroyed some old cars valued at $500 total before Rural Fire District No. 5 put the blaze out.

Rural Fire District No. 2 was again called, but this time to a car on fire in the 2600 block of E. Hobbs Creek Rd. at 4:44 p.m. It appears that an electrical issue caused the 2013 Dodge Ram 3500 to become ignited. Unfortunately, the truck was a total loss before the flames could be extinguished. It is owned by Rebecca Heimer, Minneapolis, Kan. She reports a $38,000 loss, including contents inside of the vehicle.