A possible explosion and fire at a Dimmitt, Tex. dairy on Monday night sent one woman to the hospital. The cause is still unknown, but reports say the explosion engulfed multiple structures, and the smoke cloud could be seen from as much as 80 miles away.
The reported explosion occurred at South Fork Dairy, which is located just southeast of Dimmitt. According to Castro County Sheriff Sal Rivera, the explosion occurred around 7:20 p.m. on Monday. However, it’s not confirmed if it was an explosion that started the fire or a piece of equipment that caught on fire and quickly spread.
The building that caught fire was a cross ventilated barn built only a couple years ago. Cross ventilated barns are typically large and have hundreds of fans to help control the climate with cow comfort in mind. With that many fans in a barn, it’s possible once the fire spread so quickly, the hundreds of fans within the barn blew out the smoke, creating such a big smoke cloud that could be seen from miles away.
While nothing has been confirmed, it’s also not clear how a steel building, like the one on the dairy, would catch fire so quickly.
This structure is approx 2,136,973 sq ft and is a total loss. It is devastating for the injured and the lost dairy cows. Thoughts and prayers to all injured and involved. @rawsalerts pic.twitter.com/gvBe6wmaRf
— Blake Bednarz (@BlakeBednarz) April 11, 2023
According to AgDay and U.S. Farm Report Lubbock affiliate KJTV, details are still limited about what caused the possible explosion, but Aero-care was on the scene. The Castro County Sheriff also confirmed one woman was transported to a Lubbock hospital.
There are no official reports of the number of cows that died in the fire, but it’s in the thousands.
🚨#UPDATE: Mass Casaulty Incident has declared after explosion at dairy farm in Dimmitt, Texas. So far one person is in critical condition at this time with information being very limited this was moments after the explosion that took place#SouthForkDairy#CastroCounty… pic.twitter.com/R5GjvUMHN5
— LockharTVMedia (@LockharTVMedia) April 11, 2023
Railey Silhan, who lives in Morton, Tex., says the cloud of smoke from the explosion could be seen from her area, which is 80 miles southwest of Dimmitt.
Community Pours in With Support for Dairy Farm Family
The community is already coming together to support a dairy farm family that’s now facing a loss on their family farm. Started just after the fire, a lunch/meal train was created to help support the family and crews on the scene. Local businesses and community members have already signed up, with two weeks worth of meals spoken for.
“They [Brand family] are a great family and customer, and today shows how we just help each other where we can. We live in a great community,” Elizabeth De Vries-Dykstra told Dairy Herd.
Other individuals who personally know the Brand family say they are wonderful people, and say the community will continue to rally around them as they work through the devastation.
