A lightning strike is being blamed for a barn fire that claimed the lives of a mare and her foal in Gilead Township, Michigan.

Bronson, Michigan, Fire Chief Brent Wilber said firefighters responded to a call about a blaze in a barn containing two horses in the early morning hours of June 16. Upon arrival, firefighters found the barn completely involved in fire.

“The fire had been burning for a while before the owners discovered it,” Wilber said. “When we got there the inside walls and roof had already caved in.”

The owners made multiple attempts to rescue the horses inside, but were unsuccessful