EAST PENN TOWNSHIP -- A horse barn near Lehighton was destroyed by fire Wednesday afternoon.
The barn on Ben Salem Road went up in flames around 1:30 p.m. and neighbors say within an hour, the entire structure had collapsed.
”It’s a shame. It is. If you’d seen how fast it went up, you wouldn’t believe it. Oh my God! The flames were probably, oh 20, 30 feet high,” said Tony Kresge, who watched the fire from his nearby home.
People on scene managed to get equipment and horses out safely.
The property is well-known in the area for racehorses.
“That was scary. That was really scary. You can’t believe. One fire truck they had to watch it burn. There was nothing they could do until everybody showed up except make sure nothing else started,” said Shirlaine Kresge of East Penn Township.
The horses were out for a time during the fire, then they were led away to a horse trailer.
Fellow horse owners showed up to make sure the animals were OK.
“This is the worst nightmare any horseman can dream of. The structure is made of wood and stuff, and they burn fast. You have bedding in there. You have hay and straw,” said Nancy Hoppel of East Penn Township.
There is no word on the cause of the fire.