A fire of unknown origin destroyed a turkey barn Thursday on Cheese Factory Road, off of Route D, north of California.
According to California Rural Fire Protection District Fire Chief Shawn Merrill, the call came in about 3 a.m. The first firefighters on the scene within 10 minutes found the building fully engulfed. California Rural responded with six firefighting vehicles and, on mutual aid, Jamestown Rural Fire Protection District responded with three vehicles. About 20 firefighters were on the scene to fight the fire.
The firefighters were able to limit the fire to one 50-by-360-foot barn and keep it from spreading to an adjacent barn. There were also two other barns farther away which were less threatened. The one barn was destroyed, along with thousands of two-week-old turkeys, according to owner James Swearingen.
Merrill reported the firefighters found it necessary to transport water with tankers. The metal buildings made it impossible to use anything other than water. Chemical foam was not an option, he said.