A barn near Huntley was consumed by fire Friday.

The Huntley Fire Protection District was called to Church Road near Huntley at 11:44 a.m., Huntley Fire Protection District spokesperson Alex Vucha said.

Firefighters found a large barn “fully engulfed in fire with multiple nearby exposures threatened and a field fire burning across the roadway,” Vucha said.

Crews upgraded the response to a working fire and it was later elevated through “the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (M.A.B.A.S.) for additional manpower, water resources, and change of quarter companies,” Vucha said.

“The approximately 90-foot by 40-foot barn was heavily involved in fire upon arrival, with portions of the roof and exterior walls already beginning to collapse,” Vucha said.

Firefighters deployed hose lines to start attacking the fire and protecting nearby buildings. One adjacent structure had already caught fire, Vucha said.

Because of the fire’s rural location and lack of hydrants, crews established rural water supply operations west of the scene “where water tenders continuously shuttled water to support suppression efforts,” Vucha said.

Because the main barn was “completely consumed by fire,” firefighters shifted their focus to protecting nearby structures. They also worked to contain “multiple rapidly spreading field fires fueled by strong winds,” Vucha said.

Crews deployed grass and brush fire apparatus into the fields, and the field fires were quickly extinguished contained to less than an acre.

But one adjacent barn that became involved contained hay, which created “a labor-intensive and time-consuming extinguishment process for firefighters,” Vucha said.

Crews requested an excavator and additional heavy machinery to assist with “dismantling and overhauling the dense stockpile of burning hay,” Vucha said.

Most of the fire involving the barns was extinguished in about 90 minutes.

“However, the barn containing hay is expected to continue burning and smoldering for several hours while crews work to tear apart and fully extinguish the tightly packed hay,” Vucha said.

The primary barn was unoccupied and no animal or firefighter injuries were reported, Vucha said.

The Huntley Fire Protection District is investigating the cause of the fire, Vucha said.

“The Huntley Fire Protection District would like to thank the numerous assisting agencies that responded to the scene, the departments that provided station coverage throughout the incident, and the SEECOM 9-1-1 Public Safety Telecommunicators for their assistance and coordination during the response,” Vucha said.