Ranchers offering reward to catch suspect in haystack fires in Montana

The Cascade County sheriff's office is investigating a series of haystack fires between Belt and Raynesford. Capt. Ray Hitchcock says someone has been setting fires along the side of roads, allowing the flames to blow into haystacks. Rancher Dave Johnson says volunteer firefighters helped him put out a fire before it reached his haystack earlier this month after a passer-by awakened him at 4 a.m. About the same time, a nearby rancher lost 220 bales of hay. Johnson says it was the second fire on that rancher's land. Area ranchers met and Johnson told the Great Falls Tribune Wednesday that he learned that his was the sixth ranch that suffered fire damage. Ranchers are offering a reward for information leading to whoever is responsible for the fires. AP