Fire destroys Ridgefield barn; horses not inside

A late-night fire destroyed a barn at 25601 N.E. 10th Ave. in Ridgefield on Monday, but the owner’s horses weren’t inside and no animals or people were reported injured.

Damage to the building and its contents was estimated at $60,000.

Clark County Fire & Rescue was called to the scene at 11:51 p.m. Monday and arrived to find the 40-by-100-foot barn engulfed in flames, said Battalion Chief Tim Dawdy.

“At that point we knew that this was a defensive fire and we had to focus on protecting nearby property,” Battalion Chief Brett Graham said in a bulletin.

With the closest hydrant more than 1,000 feet away, firefighters managed to stream thousands of gallons of water on the blaze from outside, using crews with three engines, a ladder truck and a rescue truck.

The first engine to arrive moved close to the burning barn and pumped water from its 750-gallon tank onto the flames, saving a horse trailer that had been parked next to it, Dawdy said.

Meanwhile, other firefighters used a labor-intensive “relay pumping” method to bring more water.

The crew with the second fire engine laid out a heavy 5-inch hose from the driveway to the first truck, and the third engine crew placed the hose from the hydrant at 259th Street to the second truck at the driveway, Dawdy said.

Five-inch hose weighs about 100 pounds per 100 feet, Dawdy said.

“It’s a very big job,” he said. “They worked really hard.”

About 15 fire personnel, including some from Fire District 6, dealt with the blaze.

Two homes on the property weren’t close enough to be damaged. Damaged contents in the barn included farm machinery, tack and hay.

Tuesday evening, firefighters were checking regularly on the hay, which likely will smolder for several days, Dawdy said.

The cause of the blaze hadn’t been determined Tuesday night, but it remains under investigation by a Clark County deputy fire marshal.

The property is owned by Aimee S. Witherspoon, according to county records.