A fire at the Little Full Cry Farm in Clifton killed 10 horses early Wednesday morning.
Fire Department units from Clifton, Fairview, Fair Oaks, Gunston, Centreville and West Centreville were called out to fight the fire, which burned the 40-feet-by-60-feet barn at the farm, located at 6429 Clifton Road near the intersection with Popes Head Road. There were two barns at the farm, which served as boarding stables. The five horses in the second barn were uninjured.
The owner of the barn lives in Ohio and is expected to return to Clifton later this week. A caretaker who lives in a house on the same property was not harmed.
According to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department reports, the fire started at approximately 2:40 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26. An investigation to determine the cause of the fire is ongoing, said Lt. Jeff Trice of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department's public information office.
There are no fire hydrants in that area of Clifton, Trice said, but that did not have an impact on firefighter's efforts. "Clifton has a tanker that carries 750 gallons of water and that's followed by another truck that carries 2,000 gallons of water. Water was not an issue," Trice said.
Neighbor Dennis Hogge said his home, adjacent to the farm, was "filled with smoke" when he awoke Wednesday morning. He said the fire was still smoldering at 8:30 a.m.
"Smoke was pouring out of where the barn used to be," Hogge said. "They were using a backhoe to tear down the walls and remove the bodies of the dead horses."
Damages to the barn were estimated at $150,000, Trice said.