COLQUITT COUNTY, Ga. — A massive fire over the weekend in Colquitt County is now under investigation after 20,000 chickens were killed and two chicken houses were destroyed along Chapman Road in Moultrie.
The CFO of Sanderson Farms says something like this is extremely rare.
Ronald Mead says he and his wife were driving home when huge, dark clouds grabbed their attention.
"We didn't even stop at the house, we just drove down the field to see that it was the barns on fire," said Mead.
Once there, he made sure everyone was safe.
Mead says it only took minutes for the fire to destroy the first barn and begin moving towards the second barn.
"As the flames got higher and higher, and the wind got into them the collector room and the wind flames set the second barn on fire," said Mead.
He says Berlin Fire Department was first to the scene. Moments later other local fire departments arrived, all working hard to put out this monstrous fire.
"There wasn't much you could do, but stand there and watch it," said Mead.
The owners of the farm said only 700 chicken survived the fire. Mead says it'll take the owners a while to recover from this devastating loss.
"The saddest part is these people will lose half of their income until those barns are replaced, and you bring more birds in," said Mead.
Sanderson Farms' CFO says they'll help get the family back on their feet, so they can resume normal business as soon as possible.
