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Fire destroyed a barn Tuesday afternoon at the Blooming Hill Vineyard south of Cornelius.
When Cornelius Firefighters arrived, the 7,000 square foot barn had heavy smoke and flames showing.
Crews started an exterior attack on the flames which had spread to most of the barn due to wind that was gusting to approximately 25 mph. Due to heavy fire involvement of the structure, part of the roof collapsed minutes after arriving, this prevented firefighters from safely going into the structure.
Being in a rural area without a fire hydrant system, water tenders had to bring water to the scene, this initially delayed firefighting tactics until a water shuttle system could be fully established.
Due to the size of the incident, at 4:05 p.m. a 2nd Alarm was requested to bring additional firefighters to the scene. After over an hour after first arriving on scene, firefighters were able to extinguish most of the flames. They spent several more hours putting hot spots out.
The barn was used to board horses as well as make wine. Prior to firefighters arriving, one of the owners was able to get all five of the boarded horses safely out of the barn. An employee who was also on scene helping had smoke inhalation as well as breathing problems and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Wednesday, the horses will be moved to a neighbors property.
Cornelius Fire Department was assisted on scene by Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, Gaston Fire District, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue, Banks Fire District, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Yamhill Fire District, Metro West Ambulance and Washington County Sheriff Office.