Fire destroys Blase dairy barn

ETHAN, S.D. — Gary and Amy Blase’s entire dairy barn was destroyed by a fire May 1. Though the shop, office, milking robot and freestall areas are beyond repair, there were no fatalities, and family and cows were spared in the disaster.

The 25 milk cows were relocated to two neighbors’ dairy farms for temporary housing and milking. The Blases need their milk to sustain their own creamery, Farm Life Creamery.

The fire started shortly after Gary finished scraping alleys and parked his skid steer inside the heated shop, which was attached to the milk barn. As he began feeding cows, he noticed a massive cloud of smoke rising above the shop within minutes.

“By the time I backed the feed wagon down to the end of the barn and turned around, there was a cloud of smoke 80 feet in the air already,” Gary said.

The family suspects the fire may have originated in the skid steer, possibly from hay or debris near the engine compartment. Oils, fuel and other shop materials likely accelerated the fire, along with the western wind.

“By the time I got halfway to the barn, I could already see flames coming through the roof,” Amy said. “At that point, there wasn’t much we could do except call for help.”

The cows were on the opposite end of the initial fire, allowing the family to move them to a north pasture quickly.

“They didn’t seem to know how to react to the smoke,” Gary said. “They were running around confused, but we eventually got them to the north side of the barn, where the wind was blowing the smoke away from them.”

As the fire trucks arrived, the farmyard was filled with black smoke, making it impossible for responders to see. They were forced to battle the flames from the rear side of the barn.

Just 20 feet away, an old red barn filled with straw sustained only minor damage despite being dangerously close to the flames.

“We still don’t really know why that barn didn’t burn down,” Gary said. “There’s just a little hole burned through. They must have gotten there just in time.”

The Blase family recognizes that the outcome of the fire could have been far worse if it had happened before they had downsized.

“If this had happened a couple of years ago, we probably would’ve had 220 cows locked in the barn,” Blase said.

Decades of family memorabilia, show banners and awards were lost in the blaze along with all the breeding and herd records. The family had written down all records in notebooks and also entered data into the computer program.

“We always thought if the computer ever went down, at least we had handwritten records,” Gary said, “We just never thought about a fire.”

Support from neighbors, fellow dairy producers and customers has helped the family emotionally get through the aftermath of the fire.

At age 73, Gary admitted he once thought that, if disaster ever struck, retirement might follow. But with their granddaughter, MaKenna, returning to the farm as the next generation, the future now looks different.

“My goal would be to rebuild something smaller, just enough to have maybe 40 or 50 cows and another robot,” MaKenna said.

The dairy had been an early adopter of robotic milking technology in the state. The family appreciates the flexibility the robots provided while balancing responsibilities at the creamery, farmers markets and delivery routes.

For now, the family continues sorting through difficult decisions while focusing on cleanup, cow care and maintaining the creamery business. Though much was lost in the fire, they remain grateful no lives were lost and hopeful about what the future may still hold.