Heavy smoke and fire prompted a call for assistance to a barn fire on Highway 80 North, in Section 22 of Rockbridge Township. The call came in at just before 2 p.m. on April 22, 2011 to an older dairy barn that sits just off the highway a few miles North of the City of Richland Center. The responding firefighters found a small amount of fire in the hay loft area of the barn that was extinguished in a short time. After extinguishing the flames some of the chaff in the loft that was left over from when the barn had livestock was pitched out of the barn and spread on a nearby field. Richland Center Fire Department responded with Engine 705, Tankers 704, 714, and 717, Squad 708, and Utility 718. The Yuba Fire Department provided mutual aid in the form of tankers. 26 firefighters responded to the blaze and were assisted on the scene by the Fire Explorers, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Fire units were on scene for three hours performing supression and overhaul to the structure. Damage was limited to the upper portion of the barn and could have been much worse if the owner had not discovered the fire when he did.
Barn Fire – Highway 80 North
