Hog barn fire claims thousands of pigs

A devastating fire near Cudworth on Thursday night resulted in the loss of thousands of pigs.

The on-site barn manager called in the fire at about 7:00 p.m.

Reeve for the RM of Hoodoo Derreck Kolla says volunteer fire crews from Cudworth and Wakaw responded.

"They were hoping they could do a little more, but the problem was it just moved so fast."

The fire quickly spread through all four barns which were connected by hallways.

He notes the farrow-to-finish operation would have been at full capacity with about 12,000 pigs in the barn at any given time.

A group of local investors from the area, the Progressive Investment Group, started the operation in 1994.

The hog operation was established in 1994 by the Progressive Investment Group and at the time of the fire employed about a dozen people from the Cudworth and Wakaw area.