MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The owner of a central Minnesota turkey barn says he’s out an estimated $500,000 after his barn, which housed 17,000 young turkeys, burned down, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office says.

A passer-by spotted the fire early Wednesday morning, just before 4 a.m. When crews responded to the scene, located at 37403 355th Ave. in Grove Township, they found the turkey barn engulfed in flames.

The barn was a total loss and its owner says his property sustained an estimated loss of around half a million dollars.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

Grove Township is a few miles south of Melrose, Minn.