A storage shed and its contents, worth about $500,000, were destroyed Wednesday morning in a fire at Nachusa Grasslands.
Franklin Grove Fire Department responded to 2075 S. Lowden Road around 6:45 a.m.
The Morton pole storage barn stored plenty of the Grasslands’ mobile apparatus: six water trailer sprayers, six utility trailers, a tractor and a pickup truck are a total loss, said Gelasia Croom, spokeswoman for the Nature Conservancy, which owns the 3,600-acre prairie and wooded area.
An estimated $500,000 worth of damage was done, Franklin Grove Fire Lt. David Haas said. The fire took 4 hours to contain and did not spread to nearby fields or affect the nearby bison habitat. A replacement shed will be rebuilt, Nachusa Project Director Bill Kleiman said Wednesday afternoon.
Arson is not suspected, and the state fire marshal is investigating the cause.
No one was injured.