Two chicken houses near Palestine, Texas, were lost to a fire that eventually burned several hundred acres of wooded areas and pasture.
The cause of the fire has not yet been reported.
The Westside Volunteer Fire Department (WVFD) was paged to the scene at 1:49 p.m. on August 20, to a report of a chicken house on fire. Upon arrival, the WVFD discovered that two chicken houses were ablaze, and that “a large amount” of wooded and pasture land was also involved, according to information posted on the department's Facebook page.
WVFD began protecting the other chicken houses as firefighters from neighboring fire departments started to arrive and assist.
The chicken fire was eventually contained, with those two chicken houses being the only structures to catch fire, while it was estimated that more than 300 acres were burned.
No chickens were in either of the barns at the time of the fire.
A report from CBS 19 said the affected barns were part of the Wayne-Sanderson Farms network. Wayne-Sanderson Farms operates a poultry complex in the Palestine area, which Sanderson Farms opened in 2015. Wayne Farms and Sanderson Farms merged in 2022 to form Wayne-Sanderson Farms.
WVFD, in its Facebook post, said at the time this fire was active, another small wildfire started inside its district, and that fire was put out by the Palestine Fire Department (PFD) and other nearby departments.
The following agencies assisted WVFD in battling the fire: PFD, Palestine Regional EMS, Westside Volunteer Fire Department, Tennessee Colony Volunteer Fire Department, Tucker Volunteer Fire Department, Bradford Volunteer Fire Department, Montalba Volunteer Fire Department, Southside Volunteer Fire Department, Cayuga Volunteer Fire Department, Elkhart Volunteer Fire Department, Texas Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service and the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.
One firefighter was treated at the scene for heat-related issues, but no other injuries were reported.
