Barn Fire Kills 26 Pigs, Ruins Girl’s 4-H Project
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A barn fire Wednesday killed three sows and 23 piglets near Phoenix Lake. 12-year-old Melissa Stegall had been planning to show some of the animals in a livestock show at the Mother Lode Fair this year.
Reports say the fire was probably caused by heat lamps which were knocked off of shelves by the piglets, igniting their hay. None of the 26 animals survived.
Young Melissa was on a Dodge Ridge ski trip with her class at the time of the fire and didn´t find out about it until later.
Barn and livestock damage is estimated at 20-thousand dollars. In addition, a power line over the barn came down during the blaze, but a PG&E crew was able to repair the line.
