Flames rise from commercial structure on the 300 block of state Route 508, just east of Interstate 5.
Updated at 1:56 p.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A fire last night just east of Napavine is estimated to have caused a loss of property in excess of $1 million for a Lewis County business that specializes in recycling wastewater treatment plant biosolids for fertilizer.
Fire Mountain Farms, a family business, also raises cattle.
“Luckily our cow operation is up on Burnt Ridge,” Ryan Thode, vice president of operations said this morning.
Thode this morning was at the facility on the 300 block of state Route 508, having spent the past several hours watching for hot spots and salvaging what he could, he said. The fire department left around 4 a.m., he said.
Firefighters called just before 8 p.m. last night arrived to find the large metal building filled with flames, according to the newly named Newaukum Valley Fire and Rescue; formerly Lewis County Fire District 5.
A department spokesperson in a news release said the structure and contents are considered a complete loss.
Spokesperson Lt. Laura Hanson indicated no one was injured.
Twenty personnel from their department and five neighboring agencies battled the blaze, according to Hanson. Initial reports to the sheriff’s office indicated a gas pipeline nearby was involved or threatened, but a deputy determined that wasn’t the case, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
While numerous ordinary shop items inside caused explosions – propane and welding tanks, an air compressor – what took the longest was dealing with the hay, Fire Chief Gregg Peterson said.
An excavator was used to retrieve each bail one by one, and break it up while firefighters sprayed it down, he said.
The business owners were not present at the time of the fire, according to Hanson. A fire investigator and the sheriff’s office are looking into the cause.
The building is described as 150 feet by 40 feet, with a lean-to attached shed on the back and a loft area.
It contained farm equipment and fabrication tools, among them were dredgers the company uses to dredge treatment plant lagoons.
“Unfortunately, we had all three stored in there,” Thode said.
Thode estimated they had around 500 bales of hay inside, for sale, and tons of barley which would have fed their own animals.
He, his father and mother also lost eight motorcycles, he said. He said he was able to salvage one replica Indian sidecar.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter