Feb. 28--A barn fire killed 23 alpacas in Hancock County over the weekend, but the loss goes far beyond just a single farm.
For 17 years, kids throughout the county have helped raise Wayne and Susi Melton's alpacas, but when the couple's barn caught fire they lost all of them in a day.
"The gates were open, you know they could have come right on out of the fire," Wayne Melton said. "I saw one of the animals run out and it was on fire, and it run out in front of the barn and then turned around and went back in. It's wool was all ablaze."
Though the couple was devastated, Wayne said his thoughts immediately went elsewhere.
"My wife asked me today, 'Have you cried yet?' I said, 'No, I haven't cried yet, but I keep thinking about the kids,'" Wayne said.
"I like him because he has a good personality and he's always been there for me," said Delanie Melton, Wayne's granddaughter.
For several years, Delanie cared for an alpaca named Sa More, the two even won Grand Champion through the Hancock County 4-H.
"I would walk around with him and I'd feel like I had a best friend every single time I showed him," Delanie said.
The sense of loss goes far beyond the Melton family.
"I mean you really just kind of bond with them," said Abby Ellenburg, another member of 4-H. "It's like losing your best friend."
Abby is one of many kids who took part in the Hancock County 4-H Llama and Alpaca club, a club made possible thanks to the Meltons.
"My brother lost the one that he showed too," Abby said. "He was just devastated by it. He's just really said, 'No. I'm not doing it this year. Don't worry about getting me another animal.'"
"(The club) has gotten kids through health issues. It's gotten kids through hardships," said Susan Ellenburg, Abby's mother. "They meant the world to them. They meant the world to us."
That's why Wayne said his biggest concern now, is rebuilding the tradition of his nontraditional farm.
"We're not doing it for us, we're doing it for the kids," he said.
Wayne said the cause of the fire appears to be electrical, but investigators are still trying to pinpoint where and how it started. He said insurance should cover the cost of replacing the barn and his animals, but the club is trying to figure out how to replace so many alpacas before they reconvene this spring.
Copyright 2012 - WXIN-TV, Indianapolis
