Fire destroys historic Kubecka Farms greenhouses in Town of Sullivan

A fire destroyed Kubecka Farms’ only two greenhouses at 691 Chestnut Ridge Road in the Town of Sullivan, wiping out late-summer crops, supplies and seed at the start of the growing season. The blaze broke out shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday, June 18, and left one of Onondaga County’s longest-running family farm operations facing a costly rebuild.

No one was hurt in the fire, but the damage landed hard on a business built over generations. Kubecka Farms says the operation was officially established in 1943, when Steve Kubecka acquired the land and began growing potatoes. The land had already been cleared and farmed in the 1840s, and Jeff Kubecka, Steve’s grandson, now owns and runs the farm. Its profile describes the business as a three-generation operation that has grown beyond potatoes to more than 20 fruits and vegetables.

That mix of crops is part of what makes the loss more than a one-structure problem. The greenhouses were not just storage space; they held the seed and early-season materials that support harvests later in the year. When a fire takes out greenhouse capacity in June, the damage can reach into the local food supply before the busiest stretch of the growing season even begins.

The setback also lands in a county where farming still carries real economic weight. Onondaga County is home to more than 570 farms, and Onondaga Grown says the county’s agricultural economy is worth $271 million. In that context, the destruction of two greenhouses at a historic farm in the Town of Sullivan underscores how fragile the region’s farm infrastructure can be when a single fire hits a small operation.

For older farm buildings and greenhouse structures, the question after a disaster is not only what was lost, but what can be rebuilt at a price a family farm can carry. Replacing greenhouse space means more than new framing and covering; it can also mean fresh equipment, lost inventory and the insurance and financing pressure that follows a major fire. At a farm rooted in the 1840s and formally established in 1943, that calculus will shape what comes next as the Kubecka family weighs recovery against cost.