At about 2 am the morning of Thursday, May 24th, the Valentine Volunteer Fire Department and Cherry County Hospital Ambulance Service were called-out to a basement fire in Sparks. According to Valentine Fire Chief Terry Engels, a lightning strike near the home followed utility and propane lines into the basement. The propane lines were shut-off prior to the arrival of emergency crews, and the fire was out by the time fire officials arrived. All together, crews were out for about forty-five minutes.
Then at about 12:20 pm Central Time on Thursday afternoon, the Cody Fire Department was dispatched to a fire behind a home on Cherry Street in Cody. However that fire was also extinguished before fire personnel made it on scene.