CEDAR CITY – About $200,000 worth of hay was destroyed in a barn fire Friday that will more than likely take a number of days before it’s completely burned out, authorities said.
Cedar City fire crews responded around 11:30 a.m. to a barn fire between Enoch and Minersville on state Route 130 at milepost 17.
The barn was stacked wall to wall with hay bales estimated to be worth about $200,000, said the manager of the property who did not provide his name.
Officials believe the hay may have been the cause of the fire but they won’t know for sure until they have an opportunity to get inside the barn, which may be a few days, according to Iron County Sheriff Mark Gower.
At the time crews arrived on scene, the winds were blowing at around 65 miles per hour making it difficult for them to work.
“You couldn’t even see the barn or the fire inside,” Cedar City Fire Chief Mike Phillips said. “All you could see is smoke and dust. The fire crews couldn’t even see the road in front of them.”
Fire crews were not actively fighting the fire Friday because at the time it was 100 percent contained within the barn and not posing an immediate threat to any outside materials or structures.
However, the men continued to maintain their presence on scene concerned that the high winds could create a serious problem by blowing hot embers toward a nearby field.
“If those hot embers were to blow over there to that field where there is a lot of sagebrush and cheatgrass it would spread really fast,” Phillips said. “It would turn into another Hicks Fire where it shouldn’t burn and normally it wouldn’t, but because of the high winds and the dry materials, it does.”
The fire could burn up to four or five days before it’s completely out, authorities said. During that time, crews will continue to remain on scene to monitor the fire.
Besides Cedar City Fire Department, several agencies from the surrounding area also responded to the incident including Brian Head Fire Department, Parowan Fire Department, Paragonah Fire Department, Gold Cross Ambulance, Iron County Sheriff’s office and the Utah Highway Patrol.
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Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News Fire crews respond to a barn fire Friday where $200,000 worth of hay was lost, Iron County, Utah, Dec. 16, 2016 | Photo by Iron County Sheriff Deputy Wade Lee, St. George / Cedar City News 
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This is absolutely devastating news and I’m glad no one was injured. Praise the Lord