Nearly 41,000 chickens die in fire
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SOMERSET COUNTY, Maryland (WJZ) — Nearly 41,000 chickens died in a fire in Somerset County on Friday, Feb. 28, according to the Maryland Fire Marshal’s Office.
Officials said the owner of the property received an alert around noon. When the owner got to the property about an hour later, they found that a chicken house had caught fire and burned to the ground.
The owner tried to prevent the fire from spreading to another nearby chicken coop, but he and his vehicle were overtaken by the fire, officials said.
The Princess Anne Volunteer Fire Company responded to the scene in the 12000 block of Petes Hill Road and contained the fire, according to officials.
Between the two chicken coops, officials said about 41,000 chickens died. The fire also resulted in $150,000 in damage.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to officials.
The fire comes as Maryland and other states across the U.S. face rising egg prices due to the spread of bird flu.
Maryland has reported six cases of bird flu during a recent nationwide outbreak. The most recent case was reported on Feb. 2 on a commercial poultry farm in Worcester County.
Cases of bird flu were also reported on farms in Kent County, Delaware and Accomack County, Virginia, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).
Toward the beginning of the year, bird flu wreaked havoc on poultry farms. The virus, which spreads through bird waste during migration, can be fatal to poultry.
The spread of the virus has been blamed for an egg shortage in the U.S., accompanied by rising prices.
CBS News reported that more than 148 million birds have been euthanized since the H5N1 strain of the bird flu reached the U.S. in 2022.
According to Maryland Veterinarian Jennifer Trout, most farms in Maryland produce meat rather than eggs.
The USDA is predicting that the price of eggs will rise by 20% in 2025.
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