A three-alarm commercial fire ravaged a warehouse full of hay in Aurora Wednesday night. The building was part of the Anderson Hay & Grain Co. facility, located just west of Aurora State Airport and Highway 551.
Crews from Aurora Fire District, Canby Fire District, Woodburn Fire District and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue battled the blaze through the night. Aurora personnel were still on the scene Thursday morning, monitoring the fire as it continued to smolder even after the building collapsed.
In an email Friday, Aurora Fire Chief Joshua Williams said his crews had handed the situation over to the property owner after more than 15 hours on the scene.
“They have set up a ‘fire watch,’ which means there is someone on site 24 hours a day with water trucks monitoring the situation,” Williams said. “I expect this to burn for another week or so.”
He said the cause of the fire looks to be accidental in nature, possibly related to overheated equipment.
According to Anderson’s website, its Aurora complex “utilizes the largest network of storage facilities in the industry to ensure a constant year-round supply of dry, top-quality fiber.”
— Aurora Fire District (@aurorafire63) January 3, 2019
