Bavaria: Sparks in straw press set stubble field on fire

Wirsberg (dpa / lby) - Presumably sparks in a straw press first set fire to a bale of straw and then almost a hectare of a stubble field in Upper Franconia. A farmer pressed straw bales in the field in Wirsberg (Kulmbach district) on Wednesday, the police said on Thursday. A rockfall in the press probably caused sparks that ignited a bale. Several farmers who flooded the field with water and firefighters first contained the fire and were finally able to extinguish it. The damage was estimated at more than 160,000 euros.