Hay fire

Wow, what a sad sight: there was a big hay fire at the Hicks family's Meadow Springs Farm on Newark Road here in West Marlborough. I heard that between 1,500 and 2,000 bales were involved, and part of a barn. It started at about 2:30 Saturday afternoon (Sept. 14), and when I drove by at 5:30 p.m., the fire was still intense, and Newark Road was shut down between Spencer Road and the Route 1 bypass. Of course, all the local fire companies were there, supplemented by others from farther away. Tanker trucks were filling up with water at one of the housing developments along Street Road west of Willowdale and ferrying it to the scene. Curious motorists had pulled over on 926 near Sportsmen's Lane to watch the blaze.
When I drove by again at 9 p.m. flames were still visible from Route 926 and tankers were still hauling water to the fire. I could see the grand finale of Longwood Gardens' fireworks in the rear-view mirror and ahead of me was the brightly lit cloud of smoke.
On Sunday at suppertime smoke was still billowing from the hay piles, and I could smell it all along Route 926, past New Bolton Center to the east and almost to Lamborntown Road to the west. A keen-nosed friend who lives in Kennett Borough said he thinks he smelled the smoke Sunday morning.
It's sad to think of all the hours of hard work that have literally gone up in smoke. I saw a Meadow Springs truck Sunday morning on Chapel Road and wished there were a gesture I could make out the car window expressing "I am so sorry."