Potato Plant Down: Fire At Central Washington Facility Hurts Already Struggling Industry By
A potato processing plant in the central Washington town of Warden burned down in a dramatic overnight fire Thursday.
By early Friday morning, emergency responders had evacuated nearly a third of the homes near the plant. Flames were licking a large tank of ammonia, and firefighters feared it might explode.
âThis was a very large fire,â Kyle Foreman with the Grant County Sheriffâs Department said. âCertainly one of the top 10 in my career.â
The fire was called in around 5 p.m. Thursday. By nearly 9 p.m. came a Level 3 âGet Out Nowâ evacuation order, and officers began going door to door. Residents were allowed to go home about 1 a.m. Friday morning.
Washington state potato crops down
The dollar value of a Washington potato has plummeted in 2020. The Washington State Potato Commission has released additional figures detailing the economic wounds inflicted by the current pandemic.
In 2019, 165,000 acres of potatoes were planted; in 2020, only 145,000 acres of potatoes were sown, which is down 20,000 acres from the year prior. Prices for a 50 lb. carton of potatoes was $17.50 in 2019; right now, it’s $12.00.
“Carton prices are down 32% from last year mostly due to loss of restaurant and food service businesses,” Washington State Potato Executive Director Chris Voigt told iFIBER ONE News earlier this week. The overall loss endured by the Washington potato industry is just shy of $1 billion.
WA potato crops dropped, price per potato fell in 2020 ifiberone.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ifiberone.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.