WEBSTER, Fl. (CBS 58) – A family-owned beekeeping business based in Germantown is now facing thousands of dollars in repairs after their winter facility in Florida caught on fire last week.

Chris Werner and his wife, Becker Werner, have owned and operated Indian Summer Honey Farm since 1982. The beekeeping business is based in Germantown, Wisconsin during the summer months and Webster, Florida during the winter and early spring months.

“Beekeeping is our full-time job and what that entail is moving all 4,000 of our hives from Florida to Wisconsin in the spring and then back again in October,” Becky Werner said. “This Florida operation makes the Wisconsin honey production possible. If the hives die in the winter, then we don’t have hives to make honey in Wisconsin."

Early in the morning on Sunday, June 7, a fire broke out at the Florida building. Trucks, skid steers, bee boxes, barrels of fresh honey, equipment, and most everything they use to run their farm out in Florida was destroyed.

“Our family just arrived all back in Wisconsin, the bees are all into their summer locations,” Becky Werner said. “We got a knock on their door at 2:30 in the morning from our son that fire crews in Florida called him.”

Chris and Becky Werner then quickly made the trip to Florida to be in the area as fire crews in Sumter County investigate the cause of the fire. They say some of the items in the building were not insured, leaving them with thousands of dollars in repairs.

Despite what’s ahead for them, Chris and Becky Werner are still counting their blessings.

“We still have our faith and our hope in the Lord to carry us through. We are ready to rebuild,” Becky Wener said.

“I know the Lord has a plan for this, I just didn’t get the memo. But I will. Down the road, eventually,” Chris Werner said.

Chris and Becky Werner say they will need to have the Florida building operational again by December and we need to have the equipment rebuilt by February at the latest.

The cause of the fire is still unknown. While the owners of the family business say they are still in the process of recovering after the fire, you can support the business through their shop in Germantown.