MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY — A fire that destroyed a barn near Olds Monday remains under investigation but its cause is not believed to be suspicious, Olds Fire Department Chief Justin Andrew says.
The fire was called in at 3:12 a.m. April 14. It fully destroyed a barn in the Innis Lake area, about eight miles southwest of Olds.
Twelve firefighters responded in two pumpers and a command unit.
“Flames could be seen by responding firefighters before they left town limits,” Andrew said in an email.
It took crews about four hours to extinguish the fire and overhaul the remains of the building.
There were no injuries to any people as a result of the fire.
However, Andrew says an undetermined number of livestock “perished in the fire prior to anyone being alerted.”
Andrew said because the fire wasn’t discovered for a long time, it was in a pretty “advanced state” by the time firefighters arrived.
That forced crews to fight the blaze in a defensive way where “there was no opportunity to save the structure or contents, but efforts were made to limit the spread to other structures and areas.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money to cover costs to clean up the site and build a new barn.
As of April 17, $2,475 had been raised toward the $30,000 goal.
