Thousands of chickens were killed in Moore County after a chicken house caught fire early Sunday morning.

Just before 7:30 a.m., emergency responders were dispatched to the 4900 block of Dowd Road near Holly Grove School Road.

Fire units reported seeing a large column of smoke several miles before reaching the scene. The first fire unit arrived to find a chicken house that was on fire, threatening to endanger other chicken houses.

There were a large number of fire tankers shuttling water to the fire. It took firefighters approximately 45 minutes to bring the flames under control, and they remained on scene hitting hot spots for hours. Two nearby chicken houses were saved by firefighters.

According to authorities, nearly 40,000 chickens were killed in the fire.

Multiple fire departments responded to this fire, including a tanker Strike Team with units from across Moore and Montgomery counties.

If you're driving in this area Sunday morning, authorities are asking drivers to use extra caution.