Equipment malfunction suspected after fire at Utah egg farm
Apr 24, 2024, 8:00 PM
Smoke from a fire at the Oakdell Egg Farms on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Agriculture officials said the fire most likely started after a piece of equipment malfunctioned (Cody Craw)
(Cody Craw)
LEWISTON, Utah — An investigation continues at the Oakdell Egg Farms in Lewiston after a fire destroyed a barn and killed more than 10,000 chickens on Tuesday.
A day later, Utah agriculture officials said the fire most likely started after a piece of equipment malfunctioned at the Cache Valley farm.
“It’s my understanding that they had some equipment they were using, a pressure washer, to clear out some of the ventilation for their building,” said Craig Butters, commissioner of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, “somehow that pressure washer caught fire and fans pulled the flames into the building.”
Butters also said the fire moved very quickly through the 21,000-square-foot barn on the egg farm.
“It’s in a rural area but the firefighters, the crew, were quick to respond,” he said.
Multiple agencies responded to the four-alarm fire at the egg farm. There were no injuries, other than the chickens.
Oakdell Egg Farms is one of the top egg production farms in Utah. According to the Pro Egg Cooperative, Oakdell sells eggs in 11 states.
