By Jolene Farley
High winds fanned the flames of a fire that destroyed a calf barn, granary, two garages and a milking barn on a farm east of Valley Springs Saturday.
The blaze broke out on the Vis "home place," owned by Minnie Vis. Her son, Alan, lives on the premises, and another son, Norman Vis, uses the farm buildings for his farming operation, according to Valley Springs Fire Chief Don Johnson.
A small fire, which the Vises put out, developed in a silage and wood chip pile a few days prior to the blaze on Saturday. Norman Vis figures high winds on Saturday blew a spark onto the calf shed causing it to ignite.
The Valley Springs Fire Department responded at approximately 4 p.m., but much of the damage was already in progress by then.
"When we pulled on the yard, the four buildings were totally engulfed," said Johnson. "The wind just fanned that fire. It was just going like crazy."
The Hills, Beaver Creek, Brandon and Garretson Fire Departments were called in to help battle the blaze.
"The most dangerous part was the propane tank that was burning," said Johnson. "They are very dangerous when they get hot."
The tank was sprayed with water to cool it down, but the valve popped continuously and one end of the tank bubbled up from the intense heat.
Vinyl siding on the south side of the house melted from heat thrown off the burning buildings.
The fire was under control by about 7:30 p.m., and firemen left the scene at about 8:30 p.m. Johnson said he checked the site again around midnight and brought a firetruck to extinguish more hot spots.
The Vises had recently added on to the dairy barn and purchased some new equipment. They were able to get all the cattle out of the dairy barn except 10 cows that refused to leave because it was milking time.
"Holsteins are ornery critters," said Johnson. "If it's time to milk they are going to the barn no matter what." Seven calves were also lost, according to Johnson.
The cattle saved from the flames are now milked in a barn owned by Norman's son and nephew.
All buildings and animals destroyed by the fire were insured, according to Norman Vis.
In another stroke of bad luck, Sunday the roof of a hog barn on Norman's place blew off in the high winds.