Nearly 300 farm animals dead in barn fire near Mount Forest

Hundreds of farm animals are dead following a massive barn fire near Mount Forest, Ont., on Tuesday afternoon.

Wellington North Fire Department said 250 goats, two horses and over 20 rabbits died in the blaze that erupted on Sideroad 2, southeast of Mount Forest.

Chief David Guilbault said despite no injuries to any humans, the loss of life devastating.

“It is really sad,” he said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “Many of our firefighters are farmers, and have horses, goats and cows.”

Damage estimates are pegged at around $1.5 million.

The barn was fully engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived on scene just before 2 p.m. and heavy winds caused havoc.

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“We probably had gusts up to 80 km/h,” Guilbault said. “We had an aerial ladder up and it was blowing the ladder and the water coming out of it as well.”

He added that crews managed to protect a nearby house from any damage.

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The Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal has been notified, but Guilbault said they will not be attending the scene.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.