Equine nutritionist Andrea Donaghy is dealing with a second fire on her horse farm in Jeffersonton in four months.

The fire, which quickly engulfed the feed mill, destroyed all of the equipment — roaster, cooler, grain elevator and an auger — on Springs Road Monday around 9:45 p.m., according to Donaghy. “I had just fallen asleep and the blaze was shining through my bedroom window and it woke me right up,” said Donaghy, president of Virginia Equine Research/Horse Sense.

It took area firefighters about 45 minutes to bring the massive fire under control Monday evening, according to Doug Monaco, chief of Little Fork Volunteer Fire and Rescue. Monaco said his unit responded to a call for a feed mill fire in the 17000 block of Springs Road located in the northern part of Culpeper County about 9:45 p.m.

“The cause of this fire is still under investigation,” said Monaco, adding that no one was injured during Monday’s blaze. “We don’t believe it was malicious.” Donaghy isn’t quite sure either what started the fire, but offered that Monday’s lightning storm could be the cause.

The feed mill, located about 100 yards away from her home, was where Donaghy stored farm equipment, which was also destroyed in the blaze, she said. Monaco, who added that a couple of silos on the farm were also destroyed, estimates the cost of damages around $600,000.

“However, due to our aggressive efforts, we saved vehicles and adjoining structures on the property,” Monaco added. According to Culpeper’s online geographic informational system, Donaghy purchased nearly 34 acres on Springs Road in 2003.

On Tuesday, she was back at work, running her retail horse feed store in Marshall. “I’m stunned mostly, but we’ve got customers to take care of and a business to run,” said Donaghy. “My husband is down at the mill.”

Donaghy also wants her customers to know that her Marshall store will continue to operate as usual, providing nutritional products.

“ I don’t want my customers to think the fire has put us out of business,” she added. “Horse Sense will still be available in our retail store in Marshall.” Her husband, Karl Donaghy, is chief executive officer and head nutritionist at VER.

Monday’s incident wasn’t the Donaghys’ first brush with a fire on her Culpeper property. Donaghy’s 95-year-old mother, Rachel Morgan, and her caregiver, Ella Mosley, escaped a house fire on March 28 around 12:45 p.m.

According to a Star-Exponent article, the March house fire was deemed accidental, stemming from a worker removing paint from the exterior of the home. Monaco, whose unit also responded to the March fire, explained that the worker was using heat to remove the paint.

The Donaghys, Andrea and Karl, operate a horse feed mill operation on the Culpeper property. In the end, Andrea Donaghy says she’s thankful no one was injured. “It could have been a lot worse,” she added. “I’m glad our animals weren’t hurt.” The couple has horses, chickens, a goat, dogs and cats living on the Culpeper property.

According to Monaco, Culpeper’s Co. 1, Amissville, Warrenton, Orlean and Remington fire crews assisted with extinguishing Monday’s fire.