Cattle Feed Catches Fire in Downtown Texarkana

The Texarkana Texas Fire Department remains at the scene of a silo fire in the downtown area.

Just before 9 a.m., crews were called to Miller Bowie Supply in the 1000 block of W. 3rd Street, where 100,000 tons of cattle pellet feed caught fire inside a silo. According to a City of Texarkana news release, the fire is contained, but firefighters will most likely remain on the scene throughout the night to monitor clean-up and ensure proper extinguishment.

Right now, there are three trucks, a battalion chief and 12 firefighters at the business. They'll be rotated out this afternoon and into the night to maintain staffing levels. The damaged feed has to be removed from the silo one truck at a time, checked for sparks and relocated, which the city says is a time-consuming process.

There's no official cause for the fire, but Fire Chief Eric Schlotter said it's believed to be due to spontaneous combustion.