About 100,000 baby chickens died after a fire quickly engulfed a large coop at a processing facility in Riverside County, officials said Wednesday.

The 4-day old chicks were trapped inside the 200-foot-long structure as more than two dozen firefighters in eight engine companies responded to the incident in the 1900 block of Warren Road in San Jacinto, the Riverside County Fire Department said.


Fire crews quickly began battling the intense flames after the blaze was reported about 5:30 a.m Wedesday. Thousands of other chickens were saved “due to aggressive firefighter action,” agency spokeswoman Melody Hendrickson said in a statement.

She said that damage and losses were estimated to be $1 million. No injuries were reported to firefighters or workers at the Moark Farms facility, the agency said.


The cause of the fire was under investigation.

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robert.lopez@latimes.com