By Grace Jacobson / News Director

SAUK CENTRE, Minn. — A farmer in Stearns County is trying to recover after a barn fire killed thousands of his turkeys.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office says around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, deputies arrived to the farm on McCormic Lake Road in Sauk Centre Twp. to find the barn completely engulfed.

The owner, 46-year-old Peter Klaphake of Sauk Centre, told them that around 7,000 turkeys were in the barn. None of them survived.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, though deputies believe it likely started in the mechanical room on the northwest side.

The barn appeared to be a total loss.