On Monday, multiple fire departments along with additional emergency personnel responded to a large fire at Feather Crest Farms, a chicken farm in Kurten, Texas.
Pictures and video show a huge column of black smoke rising over the burning farm and officials say that it could take days to put the fire completely out. About 100 firefighters from multiple departments were working together to contain the blaze.
“Upon arrival, there were two buildings on Feather Crest Farms property,” Jason Ware, deputy emergency management coordinator for Brazos County, said. “At this time the fire is contained to the two buildings.”
Footage shared by photographer James Nowak with KBTX shows that the fire at Feather Crest Farms is burning on the south end near Democrat Road. Still no word on what started it.
🔴DETAILS –> https://t.co/yVA74bzp08 pic.twitter.com/DSzeXXxrQm
— 🚨 Rusty Surette 🚨 (@KBTXRusty) January 30, 2024
It is unclear how the fire started, but according to One America News, authorities received reports of an explosion at the farm followed by the large fire.
The fire grew so large that roads were shut down and about 140 customers in the area lost power on Monday evening so that firefighters could safely battle the fire. All of the roads were opened again Monday night and all 140 customers have regained power.
There were no human injuries reported due to the accident and the fire took place in a rural area with very few homes in the nearby area.
According to a statement made by Feather Crest Farms CEO Sam Krouse, however, one of the two chicken houses that caught fire had chickens in it at the time, and all of those chickens have been lost.
“We are thankful for the swift actions of our entire team and that they are all safe. We also deeply appreciate the first responders who reached the farm quickly and helped to prevent any further damage,” Krouse said in the statement.
Feather Crest Farms was purchased by MPS Egg Farms in 2020 which allowed the egg supplier to add around 1 million hens to their operation. The company produces brown-shell eggs, cage-free eggs and nutritionally enriched eggs.
Because the two chicken houses were metal structures, it was too dangerous to send firefighters inside. While the fire is still burning at the time of this writing, calm winds are helping to extinguish them.