Firefighters will set fire to Hays school property Saturday

HAYS, Kan. (KSNW) — People in Hays may see smoke coming from the area of a Hays elementary school on Saturday. But they should not be concerned.

It is time for the regular burning of the prairie grass plots by O’Loughlin Elementary School on the west side of Hays.

Hays and Ellis County fire departments will set fire to the grass and then practice their skills at extinguishing grass fires.

The school’s grass plots are burned for the same reason ranchers sometimes burn old grass — to burn off weeds and make way for new grass and to control the risk of fire.

The firefighters will make sure the fire does not spread outside the planned burn area.