Three hundred tons of hay went up in smoke early Friday morning near Soap Lake. Grant County Fire District 7 crews responded to the fire in the 4 a.m. hour. The stretch of land where the fires occurred is located 1.5 miles north of state Route 28 at Road 23 Northeast and Dry Coulee Road Northeast. Grant County Fire District 7 Chief Kirk Sheppard says the cause of the fire is under investigation but is believed to be suspicious. Sheppard says the hay that burned was owned by Bill Stevens. The site of the fire is near the site of two other hay fires. “We’ve had a few fires in the last 60 days that burned hay and nine buildings,” Sheppard said. Sheppard says the first two suspicious fires happened at an old homestead off Road 27 Northeast. Sheppard says the structures that burned were outbuildings.