Smoke could be seen be a couple miles Friday afternoon after two feeder hog barns burned to the ground Thursday night southwest of New Bothwell.

Hanover Fire Chief Paul Wiebe says they brought in a backhoe to remove some of the metal debris to assist the Office of the Fire Commissioner in their investigation.

"Once we have [the metal debris] off we're going to bring in our crew again to dump some more water on it to get some of the hot spots knocked down. Hopefully, that will assist them in their investigation, so we're doing this to try and determine the cause."

He adds it could take a week or two before a cause is determined. Wiebe says the amount of damage will be quite significant and estimates it could be in the millions of dollars.

Wiebe notes he has spoken with the owners and although they do have insurance, it's still a devastating loss. There were between 3,500 and 4,000 hogs lost in the blaze.

The 911 call came in around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday and fire crews from Kleefeld, Grunthal, and Niverville were called in to assist the New Bothwell Fire Department. There were between 3,500 and 4,000 hogs lost in the blaze.

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