Poultry House Fire Destroys 500-Foot Structure on Pleasant Gap Circle

A commercial poultry house on Pleasant Gap Circle in Ellijay burned to the ground Monday afternoon, drawing a heavy emergency response as crews worked to keep the fire from spreading to neighboring chicken houses and propane tanks on the same farm.

Gilmer County emergency crews were called to 355 Pleasant Gap Circle around 3:09 p.m. for reports of a large agricultural fire. By the time aerial footage from SKYFOX 5 captured the scene, the roughly 500-foot structure was already fully engulfed, then reduced to smoldering ash with thick white smoke rising over the rural property. Multiple fire engines and ambulances lined the gravel driveways surrounding the farm.

Firefighters positioned hoses around adjacent chicken houses and propane tanks, working to contain the blaze to a single structure and keep it from reaching nearby wooded areas. The Gilmer County Sheriff's Office confirmed the response on social media Monday.

As of Monday evening, officials had not said what caused the fire, whether anyone was hurt, or whether livestock were inside the building when it burned. Those answers typically take time in agricultural fires of this size, and Gilmer County has not released a follow-up timeline.

Why these fires spread fast

Commercial poultry houses in Gilmer County and across North Georgia commonly run 400 to 600 feet long and can hold tens of thousands of birds at a time. Agricultural safety guidance points to a handful of recurring hazards in structures like these: heating equipment used to keep chicks warm, electrical failures in wiring that runs the length of the building, and spontaneous combustion in dry poultry litter. Any one of those can turn a metal-and-wood barn that size into a total loss within minutes once it catches.

That is part of why crews on scene Monday focused their hoses on the surrounding structures rather than the burning building itself. Poultry farms are typically laid out with several houses close together, along with propane tanks used to run heaters, so containing a fire to one structure is often the most realistic goal once a building is already fully involved.

Poultry farming is one of the backbones of Gilmer County's agricultural economy, and a loss like this can hit a family operation hard even when no one is hurt. Local officials have not said whether the farm will rebuild or what the estimated damage totals. This newsroom will update this story as Gilmer County officials release more information on the cause and extent of the loss.

Have information about the fire on Pleasant Gap Circle? Share what you know and follow the conversation with neighbors at Ellijay Georgia Community Website, or join the discussion in our Community Forum. For more coverage of local emergencies and safety updates, visit our crime and safety section and our public safety section.