Cause of barn fire near Warrenville left 'undetermined'
Warrenville Fire Protection District officials have concluded their work at the scene of Monday morning's Galusha Farm barn fire without identifying what caused the building and 30,000 bails of hay to go up in flames.
No injuries were reported Monday, either to people or to horses housed at the unincorporated site on the 27W200 block of Galusha Avenue. But Fire Chief Dennis Rogers said Wednesday that damage to the barn, not including the cost of the lost hay, will be more than $200,000.
"(Investigators) are going to leave the official cause as 'undetermined' because of all the destruction," Rogers said. "But we've eliminated any small spot fires out there and the EPA has declared there has been no dangerous cross contamination to any surrounding neighbors, so we're all done out there."
The farm, owned by Steve Berning, is known for its year-round sale of hay and straw that was stored inside the barn to keep it dry. The farm's website says it serves 14 counties. The farm also boards horses and ponies.