Last modified: Tuesday, April 3, 2007 10:25 AM PDT Andy Gates | Argus Observer Firefighters from the Payette Rural Fire Department are silhouetted against a wall of smoke on the Oregon Slope Monday. Firefighters battled a blaze that destroyed 20 tons of hay. There were no injuries in the incident. Oregon slope fire consumes hay By Andy Gates | Argus Observer ONTARIO - Payette County Rural Firefighters worked to extinguish a hay fire Monday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. at a family-owned outfit along the intersection of Power and Douglas roads in rural Malheur County. The fire destroyed around 20 tons of hay, Payette Fire Chief Jeff Sands said. The blaze was likely ignited through a combination of high winds and weed burning in an adjacent area of the property, Sands said. There were about 120 to 130 tons of hay on the property, Sands said, and loader buckets sustained “a little damage.” “Afternoon winds around this area pick up after 11 a.m.,” Sands said, “People need to be aware of that.” In other public safety news, Malheur County Undersheriff Brian Wolfe said a man who made threatening phone calls to area residents last week was arrested Friday in Kansas on a warrant issued out of Malheur County Circuit Court for 28 counts of harassment and menacing and four counts of felony coercion. Wolfe said Bonito Cardenas Jr., 31, Emporia, Kan., was arrested Friday around 7 p.m., in Chase County, Kan., after he was located driving in his car. He is currently lodged in the Chase County Jail and awaits transport to Vale, Wolfe said. Police assert Cardenas used an internet phone directory to call county residences and threaten them with death and rape. “It was very disturbing,” Wolfe said. Victims were led to believe the threatening caller was watching nearby and would soon rape or kill. Wolfe said victims were from the Nyssa area, and many had telephone numbers with 372 prefixes. Cardenas also faces possible charges in Colorado and Kansas, Wolfe said, and police alleged Cardenas may have committed similar acts in other states. Kansas law enforcement agencies, including the Kansas State Police, Emporia City Police Department and the Chase County Sheriff's Office “were all very helpful,” Wolfe said. “They stepped up to the plate to locate this person,” Wolfe said, “He was arrested and his phone has been seized.” Cardenas was being held Monday on $45,000 bond, according to the Chase County Jail. The phone harassment cases reported last week were apparently unique in the county. Law enforcement officers in Malheur County occasionally investigate phone harassment cases, Wolfe said, but this case was different. “We're glad he has been picked up,” Wolfe said, “There were no more calls after he was arrested.” - Two people were transported to a Boise hospital by helicopter following an ATV accident Saturday around 7:40 p.m. on Succor Creek Road in Malheur County, 37 miles south of Adrian, Wolfe said. A 48-year-old Boise woman and her 24-year-old son, also from Boise, were reportedly traveling too fast in their ATV and did not see a ditch in time, so the vehicle flipped on top of the them, Wolfe said. The woman was listed in “fair” condition at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise Monday, and her son's condition and location are unclear, following calls to area hospitals. Ambulances could not make it to their location, Wolfe said, which is why helicopters were brought in after an individual from their group called authorities. - Ontario police were notified that someone was spray-painting Sunday around 12:05 a.m. in the alleyway between the 500 block of Northwest First and Second Streets, Ontario Police Department Capt. Mark Alexander said. When officers arrived a vehicle was observed leaving the area - police stopped a car driven by Ricky Kelley, 29, Ontario, and arrested him on four counts of criminal mischief and a probation violation in connection to the graffiti, Alexander said. One business and three residences were hit with graffiti in the Sunday stint, Alexander said, which resulted in around $1,000 worth of property damage. Kelley could potentially be charged with a felony. The graffiti appeared to be gang related, Alexander said. - Oregon State Police responded to a truck rollover incident around 11:10 a.m. Sunday at the Cairo Junction between U.S. Highway 20 and Oregon Highway 201, Oregon State Police Lt. Rich Pileggi said. A truck hauling a trailer was attempting to turn onto U.S. Highway 20 west, when the trailer tipped and spilled a load of grain, blocking the eastbound lane of the highway for around 20 minutes, Pileggi said. Speed was a factor in the incident, Pileggi said, and police cited the truck driver, Michael Griner, 40, Jerome with careless driving. - Ontario police made several felony arrests during the weekend, Alexander said. Police arrested Richard Dawson, 40, Aloha, Friday around 4 p.m. at Holy Rosary Medical Center on a felony warrant issued out of Morrow County for two counts of failing to register as a sex offender, Alexander said. Dawson had been in the hospital seeking care, Alexander said. Then, about 15 minutes later, police arrested Bobby Harp, 31, Lebanon, at a residence where he had allegedly been staying on the 600 block of Northwest Ninth Street, on felony warrants issued out of Multnomah County for first degree robbery and out of Linn County for possession of meth and forgery, Alexander said. - Ontario police arrested Jesus Garza, 18, Ontario, Saturday around 6:30 p.m. on the 500 block of Southwest Fourth Street, on felony and misdemeanor warrants issued out of Malheur County for failure to appear and traffic violations, Alexander said.