The latest local news, weather and high school sports in and around Columbia and Jefferson City

BOONE COUNTY, MO. -- Update: Thursday, April 13 at 4:53 p.m.

A preliminary investigation shows that a heat lamp was the probable cause of a fire that destroyed a Boone County hog barn shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday night.

More than 40 pigs died the barn fire in the 7000 block of Gillespie Bridge Road.

Only one hog escaped unharmed.

It took Boone County firefighters about 20 minutes to get the flames under control.

One firefighter cut his hand while battling the blaze.

Investigators were at the scene on Thursday looking for a cause of the fire.

While it appears a heat lamp ignited some hay in the barn, the investigation is ongoing.

Boone County Fire District Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp said, “It is something that we are going to look into.  They did state that they had one heat lamp in operation inside of the barn itself.  We are going to look at that area.  As we go through this investigation starting from the least amount of damage to the most amount of damage in this barn we’ll try to determine if that is exactly where it started.  Maybe that was the cause.  We’re still in that investigation mode.”

Investigators have not released a dollar amount for the damage.

The barn and its contents are a total loss.

Original Story:

A fire lit up the night sky in Columbia Wednesday night.

Boone County firefighters got a call about a structure fire just before 11:00 P.M. They were then dispatched to the 7000 block of Gillespie Bridge Road, where they found a barn fully engulfed in flames.

It took 9 fire units around 20 minutes to get put out the flames. One fire fighter was injured with a cut on his hand.

Luckily no one was seriously injured, but about 40 pigs died in the blaze.

The barn is being considered a total loss, but more details on damage and the cause will come later today when the investigation is completed.

This fire comes just over a year after a fire destroyed the historic Maplewood Barn in Columbia. A meeting is scheduled for Thursday that will give citizens an opportunity to see the plans to rebuild that barn in Nifong Park. That meeting is scheduled for 6:00 P.M. at the Columbia Activity and Recreation Center.

To read more on the Maplewood Barn Fire, click here.