A fire at a machine shed south of Scranton on Highway 25 Tuesday morning caused in excess of $250,000 in damage and killed 10 breeding ewes and 20 lambs, Greene County sheriff Steve Haupert reported.
The fire at 1631 E Ave (Highway 25), a farmstead owned by Craig Peterson, was reported by a passerby at 9:51 am. There was no one home at the time. The first sheriff’s deputies to arrive were able to rescue 12 to 15 head of sheep from the burning building.
The other sheep perished in the fire. A pickup truck, farm tractor, planter and cultivator were destroyed in the intense fire.
Fire departments from Scranton, Jefferson and Grand Junction responded. Greene County EMS also was at the scene.
Firefighters reported there were heat lamps in use in the shed, but the cause of the fire has not been determined.
