by Neil Corbett and Kevin Mills
A silo full of hay went up in flames on Wells Line Road in Abbotsford on Wednesday morning.
The Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service got the report at approximately 9:15 a.m., and when firefighters arrived on scene, flames were shooting 75 to 100 feet in the air, whipped toward the road by winds, as the 80x100 foot bunker silo burned.
A huge plume of smoke could be seen across Sumas Prairie
Firefighters focused on protecting other buildings on the property, located at the corner of Wells Line and Bowman.
The property is the site of the Granny and Grumpa’s Antiques business. The buildings housing these items, worth close to $1 million, were saved.
The barn, hay and some farm equipment were destroyed, and firefighters expect to be on site for much of the day to deal with the smouldering bales.
Neighbours attempted to remove some of the bales with a tractor, but were forced to abandon the task when the fire flared up.
All of Abbotsford’s fire halls were paged to respond, and 30 firefighters with 12 apparatus fought the blaze.
The fire is not considered to be suspicious, and a preliminary investigation points to an accidental fire, said a press release from AFRS.
The building was not occupied, and there were no injuries. Damage is expected to total more than $200,000.