Overnight, the Washington Potato Company potato dehydration plant in Warden, Washington, burned down.
The fire caused the immediate evacuation of about a third of nearby town of Warden (pop: 2700) for several hours due to concerns that an ammonia tank located in the building could burst.
The fire broke out at the Washington Potato Plant around 5:30 p.m. in one of the dehydrators, according to Kyle Foreman with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
Employees that were in the building made it out safely as the flames spread, eventually engulfing much of the plant.
The fire triggered an urgent immediate evacuation at 8.30 for a significant part of the town Warden, due to concerns a 5500 gallon ammonia tank in the building might explode. In the affected parts of Warden, all areas West of Road U-SE and South of SR170, law enforcement officers went door-to-door to notify persons to leave without delay.
Firefighters requested help from all fire departments in Grant County to help contain the flames. By 8 p.m., more than two dozen firefighting crews were at the blaze, according to Foreman.
The fears of explosion subsided early Friday morning and Warden residents were being allowed back into their homes around 1 a.m..
Friday morning the Grant county sheriffs office posted on Twitter that the fire is under control, that no further evacuations are expected, and that nobody was hurt.(Click picture to watch video on Facebook)
