Willows rice dryer up in flames

Fire torched a Glenn County rice dryer Monday morning.

Damage estimates and the fire’s cause were still unknown Monday afternoon.

No injuries were reported.

Dozens of fire fighters responded around 8 a.m. to the blaze at the American Commodity Company at the corner of Old Highway 99W and County Road 60, south of Willows.

Willows Fire Chief Wayne Peabody said gaining access to the smoky, two-story blaze was the main problem for firefighters.

“We have to use the ladder trucks to get up there,” Peabody explained.

A second ladder truck responded from the Williams Fire Department.

Fire personnel also responded from Willows, Artois, Maxwell, the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Refuge and Kanawha Fire Protection District.

Peabody said even with flames shooting out of the upper portion of the dryer, the blaze was knocked down in little more than an hour, but the rice continued to smolder into the afternoon.

Clean-up is expected to take several days, Peabody said. Blackened rice must be cut away from the damaged building and equipment and it is not known when the dryer may start running again.

Company officials in Willows and Williams were not available for comment.