CROGHAN — Wednesday's barn fire near Croghan appears electrical in nature, but fire officials were unable to pinpoint an exact cause.

The fire at the Brandon Lyndaker farm at 9357 Brewery Road in the town of New Bremen started in the haymow, Lewis County Fire Coordinator James M. Martin said.

A worker in the barn at the time of the 5:09 p.m. blaze said it appeared that a light bulb had blown and fallen in the hay, Mr. Martin said. However, a track hoe had to be brought in to move around the smoldering hay, which made it nearly impossible to confirm that theory, he said.

"They had everything pretty well torn apart," Mr. Martin said.

A couple of calves died from smoke inhalation, but the rest of the calves and milking cows made it out of the burning structure, he said. However, he was uncertain exactly how many animals were moved.

Mr. Lyndaker's father, Joseph T., purchased the farm in January from Allan Farney, according to Lewis County land records. The barn and milking parlor were built in 1985.

The cows were taken to the elder Mr. Lyndaker's farm on Main Street in the village, Mr. Martin said.

Firefighters from Croghan, Beaver Falls and New Bremen spent much of Thursday morning at the scene dousing hot spots, and Croghan firefighters were called back for a rekindle about 8 p.m. Thursday.

The barn contained an estimated 15,000 bales of hay, making it difficult to completely extinguish the blaze, Mr. Martin said. There was insurance on the structure.

The family is tentatively planning to rebuild. Much of the lower part of the barn and possibly even the haymow floor could be salvageable, although the milking parlor will need to be rebuilt, Mr. Martin said. "The fire started high, and it stayed high," he said.