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12/16/2017 03:03 PMAn early morning fire gutted an Augur farm barn on December 13, but the family says community support has helped see them through.
"The community support has been tremendous," said property owner Kerry Augur, speaking to Zip06/The Sound on Dec. 16. "So many people in town have reached out and asked us what do you need, what can we help you with?"
Augur said the town's first responders and thorough work of North Branford's Fire Department has been "so wonderful." She added that the cause of the fire has been pinpointed as "tractor related."
The fire broke out at approximately 5:45 a.m. inside the packed hay barn, quickly igniting into an inferno. The barn structure, which also stored tractors and equipment, was reduced to unrecognizable remains in an intense blaze that also compromised a 275-gallon oil tank and caused some 20-gallon propane tanks to explode, according to information Fire Chief William Seward III shared with news media outlets on Dec. 13. Firefighters contended with the morning's deep freeze and a fire whipped up by strong, gusty winds and stretched some 2,000 feet of hose to reach the barn's location, deep in a field on Mill Road. The fire was clearly from the visible the corner of Mill Road and Forest Road (Route 22), with some flames and plenty of smoke still visible as staff and students began arriving for the school day at nearby North Branford High School. A neighboring barn, where the Augurs cows are kept, was spared.
As of Dec. 16, Augur said the blackened remains of the vehicles, equipment and other fallout from the fire could not yet be cleared away, pending insurance assessment. The barn will be rebuilt, she said.
"We're at a stand-still right now, [but] we plan on rebuilding," said Augur.
Augur's husband, Larry Augur, built the barn in 2009. He's the third generation of Augurs to farm the site at 132 Mill Road; known as Larry Augur Farm. In recent years, Augur's vast, blooming sunflower field at the corner of Mill Road and Forest Road has become a popular late-summer attraction for both locals and out-of- towners.
During peak bloom, vehicles pull over on the side of the road to take photos of the field and to get in among the flowers for selfies and photos of family and friends.
"We allow people on the property – my husband enjoys seeing them. It's something we enjoy doing, especially if we can put a smile on peoples' faces," said Augur, adding word of the sunflower photo op is definitely spreading. "This summer, we were getting calls from people in New York. We had a wedding party out there this summer; and I can't tell you how many senior pictures were planned around it. I keep saying we have to get our family photo with the sunflowers – we still don't have one!"
But those who have captured memories with Larry Augur's sea of sunflowers as a backdrop are saying that the community appreciates the family's generosity. It's one of the reasons people are so willing to do what they can to help following the fire.
"Even in town in the last two days, so many people have said, 'You do so much for the community, what can we do for you?'" said Kerry Augur.
Beyond losing hay, materials and farm vehicles, equipment and the barn itself to the fire, Augur said it's taken a bit of adjusting to realize even day-to-day things the family is used to grabbing out of the barn, like extension cords or a broom, have gone up in smoke.
"You don't realize it. We've never experienced anything like this," she said, adding the family is grateful that no one was injured and no animals were harmed during the fire. "Christmas is coming up, and it could have been so much worse. So we're hanging in there, and as soon as we get the go-ahead, we're going to clean up and start rebuilding."