IT WILL take investigators at least a week to determine the cause of a devastating shed fire between Moama and Mathoura, which burnt about $1 million worth of hay.
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Moama RFS was called to a property on the Cobb Hwy near Stud Farm Lane about 5am on Tuesday where firefighters found the hayshed fully engulfed.
Fire investigator Doug Adamson said it would be difficult to determine the cause of the blaze until the fire died down.
“It is possible it was caused by a lightning strike, but that's not been confirmed,” he said.
“We don't believe it's spontaneous combustion because the hay has been baled and stored since November.
“It would have also taken a concerted effort for someone to set it alight so we don't think it was deliberately lit.
“Our only option at the moment is lightning but we will find more evidence as we pull it apart. It might take a week to burn out because at 700kg a bale, that's 3800 tonnes.”
RFS Mid-Murray duty officer Terry Campbell said the destruction of 5500 hay bales in the 14-bay shed was a devastating loss for the farmer.
“The fire will burn for at least a few days but will be monitored through the day by the landowner,” Mr Campbell said.
Mr Adamson said the fire was contained so there was a low risk of it spreading and there was no danger to the public.
“It's pretty safe and it's surrounded by bare ground,” he said.
However, people are being advised smoke will be visible for a number of days.
“We've had a number of calls already from people obviously because the fire's going pretty hard,” Mr Adamson said.
Police are also investigating and will forward a report to the Coroner.
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