Reports came in early Thursday morning to the Fremont Fire Department of a structure fire at 6975 North Ray Road, site of Wild Winds Buffalo Farm.

It is at the farm that an apparent barn fire erupted and flames were later enhanced due to over 700 bales of hay being stored in the barn which then ignited.

As crews arrived on scene, the severity of the blaze has escalated and backup has been requested by Fremont Fire, to the likes of those at the Quincy (MI) Fire Department as well as standby backup from Angola Fire and Kendallville Fire and then later from crews as far as Auburn, Hamilton, Salem, and many other tri-state departments.

Steuben County Sheriff's Deputies were on scene along Ray Road helping traffic move as fluid as possible as crews on site continued to rotate in and out to the closest fire hydrant which is located almost a mile and a half away at the intersection of North Ray Road and Spring Street near Zion Missionary Church.

As of 10:00 crews appeared to have the situation under control and the bulk of the flames had been extinguished, but Sheriff's Deputies said, "It's going to be awhile before we're done," as the aftermath of the fire continues to smolder out. Some animals, reportedly horses, were able to escape but their condition is unknown. Some horses were also seen outside appearing to be unhurt in nature, but not known if they were the same animals that were in the barn at the time of the fire.

An initial cause of the fire has yet to be determined, as Fremont Fire Crews investigate the scene.