Northwest

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Do you have a news tip? newstips@heraldnet.com | 425.339.3400   Published: Wednesday, July 2, 2008 Big potato plant burns in Grandview Associated Press GRANDVIEW -- A spectacular fire that destroyed a potato warehouse and processing plant has left 150 people without jobs and will cost this lower Yakima Valley town much of its tax revenue. A short in an electrical panel sparked the blaze Tuesday morning at Wild River Foods, which makes french fries, firefighters said. There were no injuries, except to residents' livelihoods and municipal coffers. "When I look over there, I see people who lost jobs and revenue that is lost to the city to pay for basic services," City Supervisor Scott Staples said. Wild River Foods contributed $70,000 in local utility taxes and about 10 percent of revenues for the water and sewer fund in Grandview, a town of 8,300 about 40 miles south of Yakima. The town also is home to other processing plants for produce grown in the fertile valley. Staples said the town council will consider cuts because of the fire. He noted that the loss of utility taxes follows the failure of a ballot measure in May that would have boosted the tax rate to 7.5 percent from 6 percent to maintain existing services. The plant, owned by OB-2 LLC, of Boise, Idaho, was valued at $1.32 million, according to the Yakima County assessor's Web site. Ob-2 managers would not comment at the scene. Among those devastated by the fire was Rosa Chavez of Grandview, who worked there for a year. "We were earning good money," Chavez said in Spanish, "and now, where are we going to find a job?" Firefighters used four ladder trucks to shoot water from above the flames. Black smoke, billowing like a funnel cloud, could be seen for miles, prompting some motorists on Interstate 82 to pull over for a closer look. Area businesses closed for the day because of the heavy smoke and strong smell of ammonia that was released as the building burned to the ground. A major source of the smoke was two vats of peanut oil used for processing potatoes, officials said. Dennis Huth, who worked at the plant for 40 years, starting right after high school, was in an adjacent maintenance building when the fire alarms sounded. Huth, 57, said he worked there through a progression of owners at the 49,000 square-foot processing plant. When the current owners reopened the plant about 18 months ago, Huth's wife Linda said it was a "godsend to Grandview." "This will hit a lot of people," she said after the fire.

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