Fire at egg farm in Utah has killed 300,000 chickens
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Paul Murphy, KSTU
ERDA, Utah — About 300,000 chickens died Tuesday in a massive fire at an egg farm in Tooele County.
More than 100 firefighters fought the blaze, which began Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. The firefighting efforts were hampered by shifting winds and lack of water. Trucks and eventually helicopters were used to bring in water to douse the flames, but two hen houses were destroyed in the blaze. About 150,000 gallons of water were used to finally contain the fire at 1:30 p.m.
“Water is the biggest challenge in a small community and we wish we had more of it,” said John Stout, North Tooele County Fire Marshall. “You do the best that you can with what you have available.”
The Fassio Egg Farm is a family-owned company that was started in 1915 and has about 80 employees. Corby Larsen is the vice president of operations and said it was tough to see the buildings and chickens go up in flames.
“Our company has a history of taking care of its employees,” said Larsen. “I’m sure we will do the same here but we’ve got a lot to do to get back on track.”
Firefighters also had a difficult time getting inside the buildings because they are full of machinery and cages “It’s just a maze of chicken cages and conveyer belts with eggs going from one end to the other,” said John Stout, North Tooele County Fire Marshall.
Authorities have not determined the cause of the fire but suspect it may have been caused by the machinery.
This article was originally published by fellow CNN affiliate KSTU. It is used here with permission.