Hay processing facility barn goes up in flames in Franklin County
Fire officials are investigating what sparked a fire that destroyed part of a hay processing facility north of Pasco early Tuesday.
A neighboring farmer spotted the blaze at the Sage Hill Northwest hay processing facility on Hollingsworth Road shortly before 12:30 a.m., said Franklin County Fire District 4 Chief Steve Cooper.
When firefighters arrived they found the facility northeast of Basin City engulfed.
The hay exporting company gets hay from across the western U.S. to supply ranchers worldwide, according to the company’s website.
The building contained hay along with baling machinery.
Fire District 4 was joined by Franklin County fire districts 1 and 5 to stop the fire from spreading to a second building, Cooper said.
“The priority was to keep it contained,” Cooper said.
No one was hurt.
Firefighters were on the scene until 6:30 a.m. monitoring the smoldering debris. The hay inside the barn will likely continue to burn for a couple more days.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 12:27 PM.