CONWAY — After it was struck by lightning, a barn containing farm equipment at 14 Sabans Road was destroyed Saturday afternoon, according to Fire Chief Robert Baker.

Baker said as a round of thunderstorms passed through Franklin County, the old tobacco barn owned by Pete and Lora Hanas was struck by lightning and caught fire. No injuries resulted.

“There was a nasty lightning storm that had come through,” Baker said. When asked for a suspected cause, he said it was “definitely” lightning, noting that there was no electricity on the property that could spark a blaze.

Pete Hanas, 65, said his neighbors reported the fire after hearing the sound of an explosion, and he was notified of the fire just after 5 p.m.

“I wasn’t home, but we had a nasty thunder shower, and I think it was a lightning strike,” he explained.

Baker said he observed thick, black smoke coming from the top of the hill as he approached the property. Firefighters from Deerfield, Shelburne, South Deerfield, Charlemont, Ashfield, Whately, Buckland, Colrain, Sunderland, Greenfield and Erving assisted on Sabans Road, and a crew from Halifax, Vermont, provided station coverage for Colrain.

When crews from the surrounding departments were arriving, the blaze had destroyed much of the old tobacco barn and the trees surrounding the barn had been scorched. However, the home located on the right side of the barn was not damaged.

Hanas said the farm belonged to his parents, who had purchased it in the early 1900s when they came to the United States from Ukraine. The barn did not house any animals, but it was used for equipment storage for hay harvesting.

Although there were no injuries, Hanas said this is a “big loss” for the farm. He estimates there to be $500,000 worth of damage, at a minimum, especially from the large pieces of equipment, which included an Allis-Chalmers tractor and a New Holland baler. He said his excavator right next to the barn was spared from the fire, for which he is thankful.

“This has all kind of just kept the farm going,” Hanas said of the equipment. “Now I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”

Baker and Hanas explained the next steps are to involve the insurance company, Farm Family Insurance of South Deerfield, to see what can be covered before a cleanup process gets underway.

Hanas said this is going to be a “day-by-day” process, but he is thankful for the firefighters who came to help.

“Those firefighters work real hard doing this,” Hanas said, giving them a “big thanks.”

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.