Howell Fire investigators are trying to determine what sparked the blaze that destroyed a horse barn and killed four thoroughbred horses. According to witnesses, the barn was fully engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived Saturday morning.

 About 40 firefighters were called to the scene, but officials said the barn’s distance from the road forced crews to put down a water supply line, which slowed efforts to battle the blaze. The family was devastated by the lost.

 “This was their whole life,” said Brandon Root, whose parents owned the barn. “My mom, she was just obsesses with the horses business and everything about it.”

 According to investigators, the family did not have insurance on the horses