(GILEAD TOWNSHIP) – A Sunday night fire damaged a Branch County Barn

Bronson Deputy Fire Chief Ken Stutzman says his department was called out to a fire at 486 Hoopergarner Road at 7:10 PM. When they arrived, firefighters found a 40 by 200 foot hog barn with flames coming out of the west side along with heavy smoke at the peak and under the eaves.

There were no pigs inside the barn at the time.

The Lakeland, Fremont and Orland Fire Departments were called in to provide mutual aid and help put out the fire, which took five hours to extinguish.

According to Stutzman, the fire was caused by an LP gas heater that malfunctioned. Damage estimates stand at $850,000.