Volunteer Heroes Thwart Catastrophe as Milky Way Fire Burns On

A fire erupted at Milky Way Dairy on Ralston Road on May 10, 2025, prompting an extensive response from two volunteer fire departments. The blaze, concentrated in a hay barn, threatened surrounding structures and livestock throughout the night.

As of this morning, remnants of the barn continued to smolder. Fire officials from the North Hidden Valley and Thunderbird districts received the alert around 5:20 p.m. from a dairy worker, who is also a member of the North Hidden Valley Fire Department. By the time fire crews arrived, the barn was fully engulfed, with flames intensified by thousands of tightly packed hay bales.

“There really wasn’t much we could do to stop the barn,” stated Allen Alcott of the Thunderbird Fire District. “Our focus was protecting everything around it.” Firefighters quickly positioned trucks at strategic points on the property to safeguard adjacent assets, including cattle pens and another barn filled with hay.

Firefighters’ strategy successfully contained the fire, preventing any livestock losses and saving neighboring structures. Alcott attributed this success to pre-planning and effective coordination with the dairy’s owner, as well as an efficient on-site water system capable of refilling a 5,000-gallon tender in just two minutes.

The barn housed over 3,000 large-format hay bales, each approximately 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet. Fire officials indicated that smoldering is likely to persist for several days due to the dense, combustible material involved.

“We’ve had trucks on scene overnight,” Alcott reported, noting that the dairy’s personnel are also monitoring for hotspots. Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire; Alcott mentioned that any formal inquiry will be handled by the dairy’s insurance company.

Initially, the Maricopa Fire and Medical Department responded but was released once the scene was secured, leaving only the North Hidden Valley and Thunderbird departments for the disruption management. Alcott emphasized the importance of their preparation, saying, “We’ve talked through scenarios like this before with the dairy, so we had a bit of a plan, and we made it work.”

Photos and videos capturing the smoke plume circulated widely on social media, with residents noting the visible dark column from miles away. While the immediate danger has passed, officials warn that smoke will likely persist for several more days, advising the public not to panic.

“It’s going to burn for a while,” stated officials. InMaricopa has reached out to Milky Way Farms for further details and will continue reporting as new information becomes available.