Barn Fire and What Comes Next

On March 31st, 2026, while I was at work in Orlando, an internet-based smoke alarm alerted me to a fire in our barn shed. Thanks to quick action from family and friends who called the fire department immediately, the situation didn’t escalate further. But I won’t sugarcoat it—the barn is gone. Nearly everything in it is destroyed or damaged beyond use.

What We Lost

The fire consumed or severely damaged:

  • Beekeeping equipment and extraction tools
  • 3D printer and various machinery (table saws, chainsaws, etc.)
  • Queen insemination equipment
  • Wax frames and stored wax
  • Feeders, hoses, and countless supplies
  • Fish tanks (the fish didn’t survive)
  • Years of accumulated tools and materials

The heat alone warped metal, melted plastic, and turned the interior into a landscape of ash and water damage from the fire department’s response. Every piece of equipment, every jar, every tool is either gone or contaminated by smoke and soot.

It’s devastating. I won’t pretend otherwise.

The Good News: The Bees Are Fine

But here’s what matters most: the bees are thriving.

After 37 million years of evolution, these incredible insects survived. My observation hives are doing just fine. The colonies in the apiary—exposed to the heat and smoke—are resilient and healthy. That’s not luck. That’s thousands of generations of adaptation.

The TV three feet from my observation hive is completely melted. The smoke is everywhere. But the bees? They’re okay.

What This Means for 2026

This fire will change things for me this year. I’m in recovery mode now, and that means adjustments to how we operate:

What’s Still Available:

  • ✅ Honey — Still available (though in more limited quantities while we rebuild)
  • ✅ Queens — Available, but in more limited quantities as we recover equipment
  • ✅ Package bees — Available, but in more limited quantities as we focus on rebuilding

What We’re Rebuilding:

  • Queen insemination program (equipment destroyed, but not the genetics or knowledge)
  • Equipment-dependent processes (extraction, processing, etc.)
  • Physical infrastructure and workspace

I’m not shutting down. The bees are fine, and we’ll continue to serve the local beekeeping community. But I’m asking for patience and flexibility as we rebuild. Your orders will be smaller, timelines may shift, and everything is going to look a bit different for a while.

Rebuilding is a Project

Nobody got hurt. Everybody’s safe. And as I said in the video: everybody needs a project, right? Mine is rebuilding the barn and recovery.

I’m grateful for a lot of things right now:

  • My family and friends who responded immediately
  • The fire department’s quick action
  • The incredible resilience of honeybees
  • A community that values local beekeeping

This is temporary. We’ll rebuild, and we’ll come back stronger.

How to Support Us

If you’ve been thinking about ordering honey, queens, or package bees, now is a great time to reach out. Small orders help us recover and keep the operation alive while we rebuild. We’re working one-on-one with local beekeepers to make sure everyone gets what they need—just be patient with us as quantities and timelines adjust.

Thanks for being part of our beekeeping community. We’ll get through this.

Contact Chuck’s Honeybees to discuss your needs during our recovery phase.

Happy beekeeping,

Chuck