A series of six suspicious barn fires, each filled with highly flammable hay, have local authorities on alert.
McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren said Wednesday his department is actively investigating these fires, which began on May 29.
Nygren said there have been six fires in rural Woodstock, Marengo and Harvard, all involving hay barns. In addition to the fires in McHenry County, Kane County and Boone County have also experienced barn fires in their respective jurisdictions.
Current drought conditions make these fires even more dangerous, as tinder-like conditions will make it easy for the fire to quickly spread. In addition, the drought has also diminished the amount of hay that is available to feed livestock.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office is working in conjunction with neighboring county, local police and fire departments and the state fire marshal. The investigation to determine cause and origin and possible criminal activity is ongoing. To date, one fire in the 22500 block of River Road is deemed to be suspicious in nature.
The following is a list of the fires the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office is investigating:
• May 29, 7:26 pm., 1100 block of N Queen Anne Rd, Woodstock;
• June 5, 1:32 p.m., 11100 block of Payne Road, Marengo;
• June 28, 3:10 p.m., 18400 block of Lincoln Road, Harvard;
• June 29, 10:36 p.m., 13900 block of Harmony Rd, Marengo;
• July 10, 10:06 p.m., 13911 Block of Pleasant Valley Road, Woodstock;
• July 23, 11:25 a.m., 22500 block of River Road, Marengo.
The sheriff’s office wants to make sure that the rural farming community is aware of this information.
“We encourage suspicious activities to be reported immediately and appreciate the support from our community,” Nygren said.
He requests that anyone with information regarding this investigation contact either the McHenry County Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (800) 762-STOP (7867), The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at (815) 338-2144, or the tip line email [email protected].
Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the offender(s). Crimestoppers does not use caller ID.