Fire kills 150,000-plus hens at egg laying facility in Merced County, fire officials say

More than 150,000 chickens were killed when a large fire broke out at an egg-laying facility in Merced County on Sunday, according to Merced County Cal Fire officials.

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.

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.

Anyone with information regarding this incident can contact the Livingston Fire Department at 209-394-7919 or the Cal Fire Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit at 209-966-3622.