Approximately 18,000 cattle have died in an explosion and subsequent fire at the South Fork Dairy Farm in Dimmit, Texas, per The New York Times.
Emergency responders arrived at the facility on Monday at around 7 p.m. local time and found the fire engulfed in flames that left a big plume of smoke rising to the sky. One employee of the farm was trapped inside the milking parlor and was recovered by firefighters who took her to a hospital in critical condition. She is still being treated for her injuries as of Thursday.
“The Southfork Dairy Farms in Castro County had one female agricultural worker trapped inside a building after the explosion and fire on Monday,” said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller in a statement. “She is being treated at UMC hospital in Lubbock. Our prayers and our best hopes go out to her and her loved ones. While devastating, I’m grateful that there were no further injuries to Ag workers or any loss of human life.”
It is estimated that 18,000 or so cattle died in the incident, which would make it the deadliest barn fire for cattle in the history of Texas. “The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and we all want to know what the facts are. There are lessons to be learned and the impact of this fire may influence the immediate area and the industry itself,” said Miller, who noted the cleanup and investigation could take a while. “Once we know the cause and the facts surrounding this tragedy, we will make sure the public is fully informed – so tragedies like this can be avoided in the future.”
While the exact number of dead cattle hasn’t been released, it’s still the largest loss of cattle life across the United States in at least two decades, per the Animal Welfare Institute. The most recent mass death of cattle in Texas was in 2016 when a blizzard took the lives of over 35,000 cows.