Firefighters Comb Scene of Haystack Blaze for Hot Spots

County firefighters on Friday were digging through the remains of a stubborn haystack fire that broke out on a tomato farm, tearing apart each bale one by one to ensure that no hot spots remained, fire officials said.

But the task of fully putting out the blaze, which started on Thursday, was expected to take at least one more day, said Kathleen Cha, spokeswoman for the Orange County Fire Department.

“It’s been slow going,” she said. “As long as there’s any possibility (of a rekindling), they will stay out there.”

The fire, which consumed a haystack the size of a football field, broke out shortly before 7:30 a.m. Thursday at the edge of Sand Canyon Road, fire officials said.

More than 80 firefighters were called to the scene and battled the blaze throughout the day. By Friday morning, a huge column of smoke and steam still rose above the San Diego Freeway.

Fire officials had feared that Thursday’s blaze might ignite the surrounding dry hillsides and eventually make its way into Laguna Canyon. But the fire was declared under control by Thursday night, before it had a chance to spread, Cha said.

Fire investigators have not ruled the blaze suspicious in nature and speculate that it began when the manure-laced hay heated during decomposition and smoldered for at least two days.

High winds on Thursday fanned the smoldering embers into flames when farm workers probed the source of a small plume of smoke first discovered Wednesday night, fire officials said.