Early morning fire at Weld County barn kills 28 farm animals

WELD COUNTY, Colo. – An early-morning barn fire killed 28 animals Monday in Weld County, just north of Greeley.

The fire burned an old barn located near O Street and County Road 39 ½ -- just north of Greeley. Crews from Greeley, Gill and Eaton fire districts all responded.

Eaton Fire Protection District Chief Hugh Kane said the fire was called in just before 3 a.m. Monday. Crews arrived to find the barn, which was built sometime in the 1880s, fully engulfed in flames.

Kane said there were several stacks of hay bales near the barn, and numerous animals, including goats, pigs and horses, were all corralled in a pen near the fire.

Kane said though workers at a nearby oil facility tried to help the animals by opening the pen’s fence and letting them free, 25 goats, one steer and two pigs eventually died.

Kane said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.