.png;w=960)
Fundraising efforts continue after a barn burned to the ground last month in Foothills County, killing several animals and leaving others shelter-less and with singed hair.
A GoFundMe was started to support Carmen Jadick, owner of Prairie Spirit Alpacas, as she looks to rebuild.
As of Nov. 1, there were 342 donations that had raised more than $35,500 towards the fundraising goal of $100,000.
Jadick said more than a year’s supply of the fleece that she uses to make and sell products was also lost in the fire, and that she is short on shelter space for the nearly 200 surviving animals.
Jadick said insurance will help but won’t cover the full cost to replace the barn.
Firefighters were called at about midnight on Oct. 12 to the farm northwest of Diamond Valley.
The barn was lost, but firefighters kept the fire from spreading and helped evacuate animals from the structure.
“The homeowner was rushing to save animals and help them escape from the structure,” Diamond Valley Fire Chief TJ Moore said.
The barn was home to an alpaca herd and a supply of their fleece that was used to generate income from the owner of the no-kill farm.
Eight alpacas and a livestock dog died in the fire.
The fire is suspected to have started in a stack of 500 hay bales that was still smouldering days after the fire.
