Tag: dairy

By Caleb Hutton

DEMING — A large barn took some serious damage from what appeared to be an accidental fire near Deming on Monday evening, Sept. 17.

Firefighters arrived at Macaulay Road about 7 p.m. to find the 60-by-40 foot barn, with 12-foot additions on each side, engulfed in flames, said Whatcom Fire District 1 Chief Mel Blankers. The roof was already burning through.

The flames were knocked down within minutes. The fire smoldered, however, and it took much longer to clear the scene. Tenders full of thousands of gallons of water were brought in from neighboring fire districts.

Taking a “rough, wild” guess, the fire chief estimated the 50-year-old barn was worth maybe $75,000, including the hay inside its two wings.

The property was probably used as a dairy in the past. But nowadays, Blankers said, “I don’t even think they milk the cows.”

The exact cause of the fire is under investigation by the county fire marshal. Unofficially, Blankers said it appeared to be an accident. The owners of the property were at the scene when the fire started, Blankers said — but couldn’t elaborate because he had to jump to a report of a semi crash. (And I’m going to post about that right after this.)

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