By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

ELLIS — Crews from the Ellis City Fire Department worked to control a garage fire during blustery conditions Monday evening.

According to Chief Denis Vine, crews were called to a garage fire at 8:20 p.m. at 411 W. 11th.

Vine said when crews arrived the garage and an adjacent shed were “completely engulfed in flames.”

The fire was located in a wooded area next to Big Creek.

“The wind was blowing, and the trees were starting to catch fire,” Vine said. “The barn and shed were gone by the time we got there, so my main concern was trying to keep the fire from becoming basically a forest fire in Ellis.”

Vine said crews extinguished the flames “fairly quickly.”

He said he fire began when the elderly property owner noticed high wind gusts were causing the roof on the garage to “sway back and forth.” The property owner attempted to tie down the roof with a rope and used a torch to cut the rope. A fire was sparked and quickly fueled by high winds.

“It was an accident,” said Vine.