Chilliwack barn fire kills thousands of chickens

Thousands of chickens were killed after a fire levelled a large barn in Chilliwack early Wednesday morning.

Fire crews arrived at the chicken farm in the 43400-block of Keith Wilson Road around 1:30 a.m. PT to find the barn fully engulfed in flames.

Assistant Fire Chief Mike Bourdon with the City of Chilliwack said his crews were able to contain the fire before it spread to the other barns, but they weren't able to save the animals.

Blaze killed chickens

"I'm estimating theres around 6,000 chickens that were in that barn," said Bourdon. "So they've lost the 6,000 chickens, but we've been able to save the other structures."

Bourdon said there was no damage to either of the two adjacent barns, which also housed a number of chickens.

He said his crews will be on scene through Wednesdaymorning to continue fighting small hot spots in what's left of the barn.