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At about 7:39 p.m. Sunday, Merced County Cal Fire firefighters responded to a structure fire at the J.S. West Milling Company located in the area of Bell Drive and Dwight Way just south of the City of Livingston, according to Merced County Cal Fire Apparatus Engineer Robert Wynne.
Fire officials said the first firefighters arrived on scene to find heavy smoke and fire rapidly spreading through a roughly 50,000 square foot structure occupied by hens.
The fire rapidly developed within the structure and killing the hens, according to fire officials. Fire crews focused efforts on preventing the fire from spreading to adjacent structures. "Fire department personnel were able to protect four other structures that were exposed to the blaze," said Wynne.
Comment: Footage:
A total of about 35 fire personnel responded to the blaze including seven fire engines and 10 water tenders from Merced County, according to Wynne. A Madera County Support Unit assisted. Wynne said a heavy fuel load inside the structure made suppression efforts difficult and it took firefighters about six hours to contain the fire. There were no reported injuries to firefighters or civilians. According to fire officials, the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Comment: The cause of the fire remains to be seen, but, whether its an industrial accident or sabotage, this unusual spike in food plant fires, alongside bird flu culls, and farms being forced out of business due to 'green' regulations, exorbitant price hikes and shortages are all but inevitable.
Tellingly, it's not just the US that is suffering these issues: