GRANVILLE, Ohio — The owner of central Ohio's largest tree farm has vowed to rebuild in the wake of a large fire that ripped through the property Tuesday morning.
Firefighters got the call around 2 a.m. to respond to a blaze at Timbuk Farm in Granville.
Three barns on the northeast side of the farm caught fire -- including the shipping area, production barn, soil room and offices -- and crews were forced to battle the flames from the outside.
In total, crews at the scene told 10TV the size of the fire spanned roughly the length of a football field.
Fire crews from across Licking County responded, and stayed on the scene for much of the day Tuesday.
"Being without hydrants out here, that's our biggest challenge,” Grandville Township Fire Chief Casey Curtis said.
The 200-acre farm has been there since the early 1950s. A Christmas-time tradition for people like Annette Witherspoon from Worthington.
"My family and I have been going to Timbuk Farms for the last 10 years to pick out a tree,” she said.
She was shocked to hear the news of the fire.
"I hope that we're able to continue this tradition and also I'm concerned I'm hoping that no one is hurt. And then they'll be able to recover from this," Witherspoon.
Owner Jim Gibson told 10TV no one was working at the time and no one was hurt. Gibson said they have plans to be back in business as soon as possible, however, spring production will be affected.
“We have all intentions to rebuild and be back in business as soon as possible,” Gibson said.
Gibson also expressed his gratitude to the fire crews who responded to the blaze; to the electric, internet and gas companies that will work to restore services to the business; and to members of the greenhouse industry that have reached out with their words of support.
The Granville Township Fire Chief said the cause of the fire was undetermined. An investigator said it was hard to determine what exactly caused the fire because there was so much damage.