photo by: Google Maps

Fire crews responded to a fire in the 800 block of E. 1259 Road south of Lawrence on March 15, 2023.

Story updated at 7:56 p.m. Wednesday, March 15:

A shed, a chicken coop and two vehicles were destroyed in a fire Wednesday afternoon south of Lawrence that authorities say may have been started by a heat lamp in the coop.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office spokesman George Diepenbrock said Wednesday evening that the fire was reported at 12:35 p.m. in the 800 block of East 1259 Road. He said first responders were notified about a chicken coop that was on fire, and that the fire spread to an attached shed and two trucks parked nearby while crews were on the way to the scene.

Emergency radio traffic indicated that the vehicles were fully engulfed in flames and some grass and trees were on fire, and that a “herd of chickens” was near the driveway of the property.

Diepenbrock said crews were able to contain the fire, but that both vehicles, the shed and chicken coop were deemed total losses; he said no injuries were reported.

Diepenbrock also said that preliminary information suggested that the cause of the fire was a heat lamp in the chicken coop.