3 horses die in east Modesto barn fire

Three horses died in a barn fire that lit up the sky and shrouded east Modesto in smoke late Friday afternoon.

There were no occupants at the home on the front of the property in the 3600 block of McReynolds Avenue and no firefighters were injured, according to Randy Anderson, battalion chief for the Modesto Fire Department.

The cause remains under investigation, he said. Anderson said crews were dispatched to the property east of Sylvan Avenue about 5 p.m.

When crews arrived, they immediately worked to protect the home in front and the neighboring house to the south.

The incident went to two alarms as a call was made for two water tenders because of concern over the lack of water on the more rural side of McReynolds that’s across from housing subdivisions.

However, Anderson said they were able to get a water line from the hydrant at Sylvan and McReynolds, which allowed firefighters to get the blaze under control in about 20 minutes.

Anderson estimated that crews would be on scene until about 9 p.m. eliminating any hot spots.

He said he didn’t immediately know what was in the barn except for the animals.

“It was a larger-sized barn,” he said. “Maybe not the biggest you could see in this county, but certainly one of the bigger ones.”

Dan Rogers, who lives a few blocks south of the fire across from Sylvan on Medinah Court, said he was home when his wife alerted him to the fire. He looked from the back of his home and saw the blaze.

“The fire was up over the top of the trees,’ he said.

Damage from the fire was estimated at $60,000.

This story was originally published January 2, 2015 at 7:09 PM with the headline "3 horses die in east Modesto barn fire."