BL_MAR_StockyardFire_2-1024x683.jpg
BL_MAR_StockyardFire_2
Bluegrass Stockyards, a lynchpin livestock operation for the southeastern U.S., will stay in Fayette County, officials announced Friday.
The company’s sprawling 70-year-old facility on the city’s northwest side was destroyed Jan. 30 in the largest fire to hit Lexington in a generation.
“Lexington has been our home for 70 years,” Jim Akers, the company’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “It’s part of our culture; our roots are here. And its central location, near the interstates, is convenient for our farmers.”
The new facility will be built on land along Ironworks Pike near Interstate Highway 75.
Lexington Mayor Jim Gray stressed the importance of the operation not only locally but to the industry as a whole.
“Bluegrass Stockyards is ... the biggest cattle market group east of the Mississippi River. Because of its sales volume, it effectively sets the cattle price structure for the entire Eastern United States,” he said.
According to the city, farmers were paid about $200 million for more than 150,000 animals sold last year at the Lexington facility or online through its office.
A day earlier the board of the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority approved a two-part package aimed at keeping the operation and its jobs from leaving the state. A spokesman for the authority, part of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, said the incentives do not mandate a specific location.
The authority gave preliminary approval for up to $300,000 in credits under the Kentucky Business Investment program. That program spreads the incentive over 10 years and requires the company to hit targets of having 20 full-time jobs paying $20 per hour, authority spokesman Jack Mazurak said.
A second one-time incentive through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act will allow Bluegrass Stockyards to recoup up to $240,000 based on construction costs and a projected investment of $11.9 million by the company.
Investigators say the Jan. 30 conflagration, which also destroyed several adjacent businesses, was an accident sparked by a construction worker using a circular saw to cut metal roofing.
“Our investigation is continuing, but we are ready to rule the cause of the fire accidental,” Interim Fire Chief Harold Hoskins said in a statement.
Hoskins said the investigation was aided by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He also said it was largest fire he had worked during his 33-year career.
Hoskins said a total loss estimate had not been figured but that in addition to structures, nearly 50 cattle were killed and more than 180 vehicles destroyed.
Besides the stockyards, nearby businesses were also destroyed, including Leak Eliminators, Viking Wholesale and Slim’s Towing.
The massive blaze reduced the 10-acre site along Lisle Industrial Avenue to a wasteland of charred timber and warped metal sheeting. No one was injured in the fire, which was brought under control by a force of 120 Lexington firefighters and other emergency personnel.
Akers, the stockyard’s chief officer, has stressed that the company continues to operate facilities in Mount Sterling and Stanford. He said the Lexington operation employed 56 workers in various capacities and was working to place them at the other operations.
“We had a managers call, … I’ve kind of put the reins in their hands. Obviously we’re pushing business to them. They’re going to need resources. We’ve made that list (of Lexington facility workers) available,” Akers said. “Certain key employees, we just said, ‘Go.’ Because one of the things I want is when that customer shows up there, I want them to have a face they recognize.”
Officials including Gray, Gov. Matt Bevin, and state Agricultural Commissioner Ryan Quarles toured the scene immediately after the blaze and praised emergency crews.
Quarles noted a personal connection to the operation as well as its importance to the livestock industry as a whole.
“For me, some of my earliest childhood memories are sitting in the sales ring with my dad. My dad used to work here when he was a college student at the UK College of Ag, so this is personal for me,” Quarles said. “But it’s also important to note that Bluegrass Stockyards is one of the most prominent livestock facilities not just in Kentucky but in the eastern United States, with Kentucky being the No. 1 cattle-producing state in the country east of the Mississippi. It’s important that we assist Bluegrass Stockyards with what’s next.”
Indeed, the blaze covered acres, spreading a thick cloud of black smoke that spurred the Fire Department to warn nearby residents to remain indoors with heating and air conditioning units turned off for a time.
Council member Shevawn Akers, in whose 2nd District the stockyards were located, said the local government’s response would match the magnitude of the loss.
“The fire was a tragic loss for a 70-year-old institution with rich history in Fayette County. Its location on Lisle Industrial was a central hub for regional farmers to buy and sell livestock in Kentucky. I am grateful that no human lives were lost and for our Fire Department who worked tirelessly for more than two days to contain and extinguish the fire, to prevent further loss of businesses and to ensure citizens remained safe from harm,” she said. “Rest assured that (the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government) will work … to restore the Bluegrass Stockyards and other businesses in Fayette County.”