In this Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014 photo, a horse takes a bath after swimming in a barn at Hong Kong's Jockey Club. Chinese communities around the world were welcoming the arrival of the year of the horse on Friday, Jan. 31 with equine-themed decorations and celebrations. The annual Lunar New Year holiday is mark with particular verve in Hong Kong, the semi-autonomous Chinese financial center that expects 7.93 million visitors, more than territory’s permanent population of 7.1 million. The year is considered especially significant for Hong Kong’s vibrant horse racing scene which boasts two world-class tracks and legions of enthusiastic fans. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) (The Associated Press)
How hot is it in upstate New York? So hot that horse manure is bursting into flames.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation says it received multiple complaints July 5 about the smell and smoke emanating from a burning pile of horse manure at a property in the town of Throop, in the Finger Lakes region 20 miles west of Syracuse.
The responding officer learned that the owners of a horse stable had been storing the manure in large piles that frequently spontaneously combusted in the excessive heat and dry conditions.
DEC officials say a shift in the prevailing winds carried the odor of burning manure into the neighbors' windows.
It took three local fire departments two hours to douse the burning manure.
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