Pala
A large hay barn on the grounds of a dairy farm caught fire Sunday afternoon and continued to burn through the night after firefighters abandoned efforts to extinguish the blaze.
The fire had consumed much of the 550 tons of hay in the Verboom dairy farm in the 9500 block of Pala Road despite the efforts of approximately 70 California Department of Forestry firefighters and other local fire companies, according to CDF Capt. Tom Gardner.
The blaze, which began about 3:45 p.m., threatened two nearby homes, but no other structures caught fire and there were no injuries, according to Gardner and Pete Verboom, owner of the dairy.
Verboom, who valued the hay lost in the blaze at $55,000, said the fire apparently was started by a heat buildup in the densely packed bales.
Firefighters decided to let the fire burn itself out after attempts to douse the blaze were futile, Gardner said. The fire was still burning Sunday night.
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