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Update: No hogs lost, no injuries following Audubon County Hog Confinement fire

Ag/Outdoor, News

December 11th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Firefighters from Audubon and Exira responded to a hog confinement operation fire this (Tuesday) morning, about three-miles east of Ross. The incident at the Lawrence Handlos farm at 1599 Mockingbird Avenue was reported at around 10:15-a.m., according to the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office. Audubon Fire Chief Tyler Thygesen told KJAN News the first crews arrived around 12 minutes later, and found the flames confined to the southwest part of one of the confinement buildings and got the flames knocked down.

A firewall operated as it should and kept the damage to that part of the building, still the structure contained a significant amount of interior damage. The fire was declared under control at around 11:25-a.m. Audubon firefighters remained on the scene overhauling the site until around 12:45-p.m.

Thygesen said Exira Fire provided extra water to fight the flames, and everyone worked well together, including the owners, who worked to shut-off the power and gas. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. All the confinements were empty fortunately, so no animals died, and no firefighter injuries were reported.