Thousands of pigs killed in massive fire on central Alta. hog farm

Firefighters in central Alberta spent much of Monday on the scene of one of the largest fires recorded, that left thousands of sows dead.

Officials said the fire on the hog farm, located on a Hutterite colony about 20 kilometres northwest of Red Deer, south of Bentley, started at about 6 a.m. Monday.

Fire crews arrived at 6:45 a.m., and remained on the scene until later that evening – at the fire’s peak, officials said 45 firefighters were on the scene, and many of those firefighters had left by about 8 p.m.

Investigators said about 4000 sows died in the fire – while the blaze is not believed to be the largest barn fire for the Bentley District Fire Department, officials said it is the largest livestock fire.

The preliminary damage estimate is about $5 million.

At last word, officials said a cause had not yet been identified.

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  Firefighters spent much of the day on the scene of a massive barn fire south of Bentley on Monday, July 7, 2014. Courtesy: Bentley District Fire Department

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  Damages from the fire have been estimated at about $5M.