SC horse owner mourns 9 horses killed in barn fire

SUMTER, S.C. (AP) — A Sumter stable owner and his wife are mourning the loss of nine horses killed in a barn fire over the weekend.

Sixty-nine-year-old Doug McDowell says he thinks lightning Sunday evening hit a circuit breaker in the barn, sending a spark to a pile of hay stored in the top of the barn.

McDowell says Sumter County Public Works officials came to help him bury the horses, which he valued at $20,000. He says he and his wife JoAnn have owned the Double Dream Appaloosa Stables for 22 years and had many of the horses for more than 20 years.

Sumter County Fire Department Battalion Chief Bud Ivey says he is uncertain what caused the fire.