By NATE KING
Salina Post
An unauthorized fire sparked a blaze that engulfed a shed and damaged a nearby property in the 1800 block of Old 40 Highway Monday evening.
At 5:15 p.m. yesterday evening, a Saline County Sheriff's Deputy on patrol spotted smoke in the vicinity of where the fire was located. When the deputy arrived on the scene, they found a shed fully engulfed.
"The shed was about 15 feet by 40 feet," said Saline County Sheriff's Office Captain Jim Hughes. "Inside the shed there were some miscellaneous tools valued at about $1,500. The fire has spread from the shed and went to an old camper that was parked nearby, and the box off of an old ambulance that was gonna be made into a camper in the future."
Hughes said the shed, worth around $10,000, was a total loss.
According to the Saline County Sheriff's Office report, the fire started from an unauthorized controlled burn in the area. The property owner said no one had permission to burn anything on his land. Burnt lumber, timber, and tree limbs suggested that embers from the burn were blown by the wind and ignited the shed.
The owner, who hadn’t been on the property for a week, was notified about the fire by phone.
"He [property owner] made reports in the past about people dumping [garbage] out there illegally," Hughes said.
Hughes said no one was injured as a result of the fire.
Salina Post will update this story as new information becomes availabe.