Snow Ridge Farm barn fire in Jackson County

JACKSON COUNTY, MI -- A fire that struck a large Clark Lake horse farm only burned for a few hours, but the devastation will be remembered for years to come.

The main barn at Snow Ridge Farm on Clark Lake Road in Columbia Township in southeastern Jackson County, was engulfed by a fire in the early hours of Aug. 30, killing five animals and destroying equipment. Crews from the Columbia Township Fire Department were called to the area at about 1:11 a.m., said Fire Chief Scott Cota.

The fire burned through the barn and nearby vehicles and equipment until about 5 a.m., said Libby Myers, who co-owns the farm with her husband Mike.

“To have the barn be gone has really upset our routine. For the first week (after the fire), we would just look at each other and ask what do we do with all of our time,” Myers said. “We were lost. It probably would have been easier if it had been our house -- that’s how much time we spent at the farm.”

The Myers family was woken up at about 1:10 a.m. by a frantic phone call from their neighbor, Myers’ mother-in-law, telling them the barn was on fire.

“We got up and looked out the window and (the fire) had fully engulfed the entire barn,” Myers said. “There was nothing we could do, it was so involved.”

Several vehicles in and near the barn were destroyed by the fire, including an ATV, a Skid-steer loader, a horse trailer, two lawn mowers and a new 2022 Ford F-350, which only had about 8,000 miles on it, Myers said.

The family also lost two stallions named Fool Me Once and Manhardt, a young colt and two German shepherd dogs.

“They weren’t just dogs, and they weren’t just horses,” Myers said. “They don’t just have a number at our place.”

Fool Me Once and Manhardt were two of the prized stallions at Snow Ridge. Fool Me Once belonged to the Myers family for about three years, and in that time had made almost $1.2 million as a race horse and a stud stallion, Myers said.

Manhardt had been on the farm for nearly 12 years, and had made about $500,000 siring many horses in Michigan and Ohio, including several state champions.

“He was probably the most popular stallion to breed to in Michigan,” Myers said of Manhardt.

The yearling colt, named Black Tie Affair, had just been sold, and was set to begin his racing career next year, Myers said. He was supposed to leave the farm with the buyer just days after the fire took place.

Myers said her two dogs, Sydney and Zep, were both the descendants of American show line German shepherds. Myers recalls sitting down with Sydney mere hours before the fire.

“It takes a while to make a good dog,” Myers said. “It was just the night before the fire, we told her what a good girl she turned out to be. It’s just very sad.”

Fire officials believe the origin of the fire was electrical in nature, due to storms that had knocked power out previously that evening, Cota said.

A malfunctioning electrical panel within the barn could be the source of the flames, as it shows obvious signs of a power surge, Myers said.

The main barn contained about two tons of horse grain that fueled the flames for hours.

Raising horses began as a hobby for the Myers family, though it has since become a full-time commitment. The fire wiped away more than 20 years of the family’s history in the business.

“The amount of support from people near and far has just been mind boggling to us,” Myers said. “We really appreciate everything, big and small.”

In addition to donations of money and food, local supporters have offered to help clean up after the blaze, and replace equipment that was lost.

The assistance will go a long way toward helping the farm bounce back from the fire. The farm is still home to more than 60 horses, several that are pregnant.

“We’ve got babies coming in January -- we’ve got to be put back together,” Myers said.

A GoFundMe campaign organized by Myers’ family has so far raised more than $25,000.

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