Fiery explosion at Texas dairy farm kills 18,000 cows

Nearly three times the amount of cows slaughtered each day in the US perished in the fire

Some 18,000 cows were killed after a massive explosion and fire erupted at a dairy farm in West Texas, becoming the largest known single-incident death of cattle.

On Monday, a blast rocked the South Fork Dairy Farm in Dimmitt, Texas.

Immense clouds of black smoke filled the air above the dairy farm for hours as officials worked to subdue the fire.

The aftermath of the tragic fire revealed that a staggering 18,000 cattle died - nearly three times the amount of cows slaughtered each day in the US.

There were no human casualties, though one dairy farm worker was rescued and taken to the hospital. As of Tuesday, they were in critical, but stable condition.

It is unclear how the explosion began, though County Judge Mandy Gfeller hypothesized that it could have been a malfunction in a piece of equipment. Texas fire officials will be investigating the cause according to USA Today.

Most of the cows that died in the fire were a mix of Holstein and Jersey cows, the 18,000 represented approximately 90 per cent of the farm’s total herd.

The cows were huddled together in a holding pen, waiting to be milked, when the explosion occurred.

The loss of livestock will have a large financial impact on the farm as each cow is “roughly” valued at $2,000 according to USA Today.

Smoke rises from the dairy farm after the fiery explosion (Silvia Martin / KFDA News Channel 10)

Locals told KFDA News Channel 10 they heard a loud boom and could see massive pillars of smoke for miles. The black smoke could be seen for miles, even from surrounding towns.

“It was crazy,” Kennedy Cleraman, a Dimmitt resident, told KFDA. “There was a big, massive, black air and it looked like fog in the street. And it was all burnt- the place.”

Videos and photos from people in the area show the terrifying amount of smoke that filled the air.

South Fork Dairy Farm is located in Castro County which is one of the highest dairy-producing counties in Texas.

Castro County has more than 30,000 cattle in it, according to Texas’ 2021 Annual Dairy Review.

Renzo Sullivan, another Dimmitt resident, told KFDA, “It is kind of painful because it’s like that’s kind of what we do here, and that’s how we get our money for like the city and all that. So that’s just a major drop for us.”

Dimmitt Mayor Roger Malone called the fire “mind-boggling.”

“I don’t think it’s ever happened before around here,” Mr Malone said. “It’s a real tragedy.”

The incident is the largest single-incident death of cattle since the Animal Welfare Institute, an animal advocacy organisation, began tracking barn fires in 2013.

The Animal Welfare Institute has guidelines to prevent barn fires which include performing annual inspections, having access to fire extinguishers, creating an emergency action plan, completing annual fire safety training, having emergency lanes in structures, and more