Animals not harmed in early Monday morning fire at hog confinement

The Allamakee County Dispatch Center received a report Monday morning, September 7 right around midnight of a fire at a hog confinement located at 970 Jefferson Road, just off of Highway 76 south of Waukon. Local authorities say the fire was confined to the ceiling of the building and quickly contained and that the more than 1,200 hogs inside the building were not harmed.
The metal ceiling of the structure did give way in some areas, but the confinement crates within the structure prevented the ceiling from falling on the hogs, which were later transported out of the structure. Local authorities say the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but that frequent lightning strikes that accompanied thunderstorms in the area may have sparked the blaze.