A fire at a potato factory in eastern Washington late on Thursday prompted authorities to issue a Level 3 evacuation order due to the risk of an ammonia explosion.
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office issued a “GO NOW” notice to all residents living west of Road U-SE and south of Highway 170 in Warden, Wash., Before 9:00 pm PT, as the fire threatened a ammonia tank inside the Washington Potato Company.
“This Level 3 notice means you must leave the area now. Don’t delay,” the sheriff’s department said in the alert. “Police officers will go from door to door to notify people in the Level 3 area.”
The sheriff’s department said emergency teams may not be able to help those who decide to stay.
HEAVY RAINS TO RAIN THE SOUTH WHILE WE WAS WAITING TO GET DRY RELIEF
Door-to-door evacuation notices were completed around 11 pm Pacific time, reported a KREM-TV reporter in Spokane. “The fire will continue to burn with the hope that the tank will not explode. Grant. Co. PIO says the fire was reported to have started at a dehydration unit in the Washington Potato Co. building, with the expectation of ‘total loss'” , he tweeted.
(The fire in Warden, Wash., Is seen Thursday night. (Grant County Sheriff’s Office))
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No injuries were reported immediately.
Warden is about 160 kilometers southwest of Spokane.
The fire was extinguished early Friday morning and residents were allowed to return to their homes, KXLY-TV said in Spokane. There were no reports of an explosion.