DIMMITT, Texas (AP) - An explosion at a dairy farm in the Texas Panhandle that critically injured one person and killed an estimated 18,000 head of cattle is the deadliest barn fire involving cattle recorded since the Animal Welfare Institute began tracking the fires.

Local news reports said some cows survived. 

Castro County Sheriff Salvador Rivera has said the April 10 fire and explosion at Southfork Dairy Farm near Dimmitt was likely caused by overheated equipment and would be investigated by state fire marshals.

“This would be the most deadly fire involving cattle in the past decade, since we started tracking that in 2013,” institute spokesperson Marjorie Fishman said.

The institute tracks barn fires that kill other livestock, including poultry, pigs, goats and sheep.

“The deadliest barn fire overall since we began tracking in 2013 was a fire at Hi-Grade Egg Producers North, Manchester, Indiana, which killed 1 million chickens,” according to Fishman.

A spokesperson for the state insurance department, which oversees the fire marshals’ office, said only that the fire is under investigation.