Eight horses died in a fire that destroyed a barn Saturday evening in the Union Bridge area of Frederick County.
Firefighters were dispatched to the barn in the 10000 block of Bessie Clemson Road about 4:30 p.m., and they found about 70 percent of the structure in flames, said Sarah Campbell, a Frederick County fire spokeswoman.
Twenty-five firefighters from companies in Frederick and Carroll counties used water from a nearby pond to get the fire under control within an hour, and extinguished in about two hours, she said.
But firefighters were unable to rescue eight horses inside, she said.
Fire marshals were still investigating the cause of the fire Sunday morning, Campbell said.