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Roaring Huntley barn fire draws crowd

No one was injured in a raging barn fire that drew crowds in Huntley Thursday night, fire officials said.

Huntley Fire Chief Jim Saletta said fire crews were called to an abandoned farm at the end of Donald Drive at 6:47 p.m. Thursday night with reports that an old barn had caught fire.

He said the barn was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at the scene five minutes later.

He said a check of the property determined no one was in the barn when it caught fire, and no animals had been around the property in many years.

He said firefighters surrounded the structure and controlled the burn, allowing the fire to raze the structure to the ground.

“Someone purchased the property years back for the purpose of development, but nothing has been done with it since,” he said. “The fire is under investigation.”

A large column of black smoke was seen drifting from the barn about a block south of Huntley Road as cars pulled over to witness the blaze.

Saletta said the barn was near a soccer field and people watching the game called the fire department.

He said the Huntley Fire Protection District were assisted at the scene by firefighters from Rutland-Dundee and Algonquin. He said Woodstock fire fighters manned the Huntley fire stations while firefighters were at the blaze.

He added no adjacent buildings were damaged in the blaze.

  Curious onlookers walk near a large fire in Huntley Thursday night. Several Huntley Road motorists pulled off into an industrial park to view the scene. A column of thick smoke could be seen from as far away as Algonquin. Patrick Kunzer/pkunzer@dailyherald.com
  Curious onlookers walk near a large fire in Huntley Thursday night. Several Huntley Road motorists pulled off into an industrial park to view the scene. A column of thick smoke could be seen from as far away as Algonquin. Patrick Kunzer/pkunzer@dailyherald.com