(GILEAD TOWNSHIP) – A Sunday morning fire destroyed a Gilead Township barn.

The Bronson Fire Department was called out to 471 West Southern Road just after 10 AM Sunday. Fire Chief Scott Wilbur says his department arrived and found a hoop barn on fire. The structure contained 175 round bales of hay.

No one was home when the fire started. A person driving by saw the blaze and called 911. The caller also moved a tractor away from the barn and removed a horse from the barn.

Mutual aid in fighting the fire was provided by the Lakeland and Orland Fire Departments.

The barn is part of the Davis Family Farm Homestead, which is operated by Clint Davis. He helped remove the hay bales while a neighbor helped move an excavator.

Wilbur says firefighters fought the blaze for five and a half hours before it was finally put out. A baler, a trim rack and a Polaris Ranger were also in the barn. Total damage estimates on the structure and its contents is at $77,000.

Michigan State Police and Life Care Ambulance both assisted at the scene. A cause for the fire has not been determined.