Fire destroys hay press, storage structure in Western Oregon

Published 11:00 am Wednesday, June 19, 2024

A fire destroyed a large hay press and storage facility in Polk County on Tuesday morning.

No injuries were reported from the blaze at Sunrise Trading Inc., near Dallas, Oregon, west of Salem.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation on Wednesday, but it is not considered suspicious, said Sheila Peirce, community services officer for Southwest Polk County Rural Fire District.

Peirce said the building destroyed was filled with hay and measured about 400 feet long and 150 feet wide — which is longer than a football field and almost as wide.

“It’s still burning right now,” she said Wednesday morning, as public safety workers continued to monitor the scene.

“It’s under control, but we want to make sure it stays under control,” Peirce added.

The agency responded to the scene at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday as a plume of black smoke that could be seen for miles billowed into the sky. The building was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.

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