Tens of thousands of chickens killed in Cokato barn fire
Tens of thousands of chickens were killed in a fire at a commercial egg production farm in Cokato early Monday, according to a company spokesperson.
Cokato and six other volunteer fire departments responded to the 6300 block of Mowery Avenue Southwest off of Highway 12 just after 5:30 a.m. for a fire reported at Forsman Farms, according to the Wright County Sheriff’s Office.
The fire was contained to one of five barns, according to Forsman Farms spokesperson Jon Austin. No one was hurt, nor was anyone in the barn at the time, he said, adding that some workers were on the property.
The barn that burned was full of chickens. Austin didn’t yet know exactly how many perished as of Monday but said he was certain tens of thousands died.
The company produces more than 6 million eggs a day, according to its website.
The fire was under control by early afternoon, according to the Cokato Fire Department.
Assisting agency Howard Lake Fire Department, in a Facebook post earlier in the day, asked residents to conserve water for firefighters.
Forsman Farms and fire officials had not yet determined the cause of what’s now the second fire at the farm in recent years. The last one in 2022 also killed tens of thousands of chickens.