Oconee Chicken Coop Fire Makes Two in One Afternoon

The was busy today, extinguishing two fires within a matter of hours.

The second fire broke out around 4 p.m. along the side of a chicken house in the 2700 block of Greensboro Highway. Mike Link, Watkinsville station chief, said farmhands were throwing buckets of water on the blaze at the time firefighters arrived.

“They were lucky it didn't burn the whole house down,” Link said, adding he was uncertain exactly how the fire ignited.

The owner of the property, Charles Osborn, was across the street when a neighbor called to inform him sirens were coming from the chicken house. His first thought: How much he might lose if the chickens, which are scheduled to be shipped out next Monday, were harmed from the fire.

“I'm kinda scared to walk it,” he said, before fully inspecting the damage.

Following a preliminary investigation, Osborn said it was probably a shorted wire somewhere that caused the blaze, which was extinguished within 5 or 10 minutes.

After taking a look at the chicken house, which houses about 20,000 chickens, Osborn said it didn't appear that the chickens were harmed.

“In the long run, I'll be OK,” he said. “I just needed this check.”

occurred shortly after noon near . Witnesses said sparks rained down from electrical wires and ignited the brush underneath, quickly spreading to the tire shop's parking lot.

Karla Hulsey, fire rescue administrative assistant, said brush fires are relatively common, especially when temperatures rise.