Fire destroys Warden produce shed Sunday morning

WARDEN – A fire destroyed a produce storage building in Warden on Sunday morning. 

Firefighters responded just before 8 a.m. to a report of a burning shed at Road 7.5 and Road U Southeast, according to Grant County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman.   

No injuries were reported, and no employees were believed to have been in the building when the fire started, Foreman said. The building was used to store potatoes and onions. 

The case of the fire had not been determined Sunday afternoon, Foreman said. 

“There's a center core of the building where fire is,” Foreman said. “Firefighters were trying to make access to that to put that out. It's the most difficult to reach.” 

The shed, a structure of more than 200,000 square feet owned by Skone & Connors Produce, was completely destroyed. Estimated losses were $5 million for the building, and as much as $5 million for the contents, Foreman said. 

The fire was still burning Sunday afternoon and was expected to be extinguished by evening, although some smoke could remain for several days, Foreman said. 

    The shed, which covered more than 200,000 square feet, was expected to be a total loss, according to GCSO Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman.