Fire authorities in Harris County, Texas, are investigating a barn fire that killed 11 horses.

Lt. Dean Hensley, public information officer for the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office, said that in the early morning hours of Dec. 3 Little York Fire Department personnel responded to a stable fire in northwest Harris County.

Fire and Arson Investigator Lt. Mitch Weston said that 48 horses were located on the property at the time of the fire. Of those, two were located in a pasture and the remaining 46 were located in five different structures on the property, he said.

Fire department personnel stopped the fire from spreading to the largest barn containing 20 horses. Four horses were rescued from a second burning structure by firefighters, he said. Another 11 horses perished in the blaze