POTTER, NE - Members of the Potter Fire Department are resting after spending the second half of last week battling a hay stack fire near the Colorado border.

Potter Fire Chief Herb Stevens said the first call of the fire came in around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. The fire was straight south of Potter about 1-2 miles from the Colorado-Nebraska border.

The initial call finally ended sometime Friday morning, but the fire department was called out to the same location Friday afternoon.

The fire department then returned again Saturday morning.

Stevens said Potter, Sidney, Peetz, Kimball, Dalton and Dix fire departments all responded to the fire. Not all the fire departments were out at the fire at the same time.

About 500 bales of hay were burned in the blaze. Stevens said the recent dry and hot conditions played a role.

About 70 man hours and 700,000 gallons of water were used to extinguish the flames.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

According to Stevens while the Potter VFD was at the fire, a rollover occurred north of the town. The Gurley Fire Department responded to that incident.

Stevens praised all the departments for their help aiding Potter while they were battling the hay fire.

"We just about cleared out the Panhandle," Stevens said. "We work well together. We can get anything done when we work together."