Fire at popular Modesto attraction destroys barn and kills goats and their newborns
A fire late Sunday night destroyed a barn at Dutch Hollow Farms and killed three goats and their eight newborns, which had been brought indoors to protect them from the recent cold weather. The fire is believed to have started with a heater.
Dutch Hollow is just east of Modesto on Milnes Road and its attractions include a petting zoo, pumpkin patch in the fall, and craft fair in the spring.
The fire was in the sales barn, where visitors pay to enter and can purchase pumpkins in the fall and fresh bunches of tulips and sunflowers grown at the farm. The barn normally does not have animals in it, said Amy Crabtree, one of the Dutch Hollow managers.
“We brought them in here to try to keep them warm because it’s so chilly,” said Crabtree, adding that the kids had been born in the past week. The goats included Zazu and her four kids.
Each goat and her offspring had a heat lamp, Crabtree said, and fire investigators believe the fire started at one of the lamps. No other animals were in the barn.
A Modesto Fire Department incident summary states firefighters were dispatched at 11:11 p.m. Sunday and the cause of the fire is under investigation. Five engines and three water tenders responded.
Crabtree said the outpouring of support from the community on social media for Dutch Hollow has been “just amazing.” She said if people want to help, they can do so by coming to baby animal days. The events start March 19 and run through April 8. Tickets can be purchased at www.dutchhollowfarms.com.
“Kids get to be off their technology and have some good, wholesome family fun,” Crabtree said. “A lot of kids have never seen a baby animal.”
She said that is the only support Dutch Hollow is seeking; it is not setting up a GoFundMe page. She said it may add a link on its website for people to donate to the farm.
Dutch Hollow has several dozen animals, including goats, sheep, cows, mini horses, peacocks, an alpaca, two llamas, chickens and roosters and even a rabbit, Crabtree said. There also is a host of other activities for children.
Dutch Hollow is a popular attraction. Crabtree said it can draw more than 60,000 visitors annually, including as many 45,000 in October for pumpkins. She said visitors came from the foothills, Sacramento and the Bay Area.
John Bos started Dutch Hollow in 2006 as a pumpkin patch at Claribel and Oakdale roads and then added more attractions over the years. Crabtree said Dutch Hollow moved to its present site in November 2020.
Dutch Hollow relocated because the land it was leasing is part of the expansion of Riverbank’s Crossroads shopping center. The attraction now is at the site of the Bos family dairy, which closed about six years ago, Crabtree said.
