Massive almond fire near Orland

Smoke continued to billow strongly Tuesday morning from burning almonds inside a warehouse barn at North Valley Nut Co. near Orland.
Sprinklers poured water on the huge piles of in-shell almonds in an attempt to put out the fire that started early Monday morning and destroyed from 5 to 7 million pounds of nuts.
The fire is expected to burn for several more days at the facility southeast of Orland at 7418 County Road 24, which is part of Hart Farms.
Office manager Cindy Cushman said firefighters from the Orland Fire Department told plant personnel the blaze could burn up to five days before it is put out.
The fire started in a corner of the open warehouse around 1:17 a.m. Monday, but a cause has not been determined.
Cushman said her company does not know what created the fire, and it would be speculation to suggest a cause at this point.
She said fire department investigators and insurance company investigators plan to examine the scene and try to find the origin.
Owners of the plant were in meetings with insurance representatives and others Tuesday morning, Cushman said, trying to work through the loss.
She said the building and nut product were each insured, but she did not give exact figures for the losses.
It is also likely the company will rebuild the structure, Cushman said, but she could not give a timetable for completing it.
“We are working from today to tomorrow,” she said. “That is all we are thinking about right now.”
Orland Fire Chief Jeff Gomes said two Orland fire engines and two water tenders responded to the blaze with mutual aid assistance from the Hamilton City and Capay Fire departments that each sent two engines and a total of three water tenders.
At the peak of the fire, 30 to 35 fire personnel were at the scene, he said, and the blaze took almost 20 hours to get under control.
Gomes said the cause of the fire is under investigation with the Cal Fire office in Red Bluff, so he could not comment. He confirmed the blaze started in the north part of the approximately 35,000-square-foot building.
With help from the other fire departments, Orland Fire was able to save two 20,000-square-foot warehouse-type structures to the south of fire, Gomes said, along with the almond products inside.
He added they had the nut company move several large piles of almonds adjacent to the burning building, at its north and west sides, so they would not catch fire.
The scene was not turned over to the nut company until after 10 p.m. Monday, Gomes said, and sprinklers mounted outside the building continue to put water on the burning nuts.
“We are checking it regularly,” Gomes said. “I told Mr. Hart (the owner) if the wind conditions change or there are flare-ups, we would respond again.”
Gomes explained the only course of action is to let the almonds burn because the metal-beamed warehouse is too unstable to allow equipment and people in to spread the nuts out.
He said the steel beams are buckling and the railings at the side of the structure are buckling, too, with six-foot bolts lifting out of the concrete.
“I could not allow anyone in the building,” Gomes said. “It is not worth the risk.”
He gave a strong “thank you” to the Hamilton City and Capay crews that assisted on this fire. “I really appreciate it,” Gomes said.
Hamilton City firefighters remained at the scene nearly all day, he said, and Capay was there throughout the morning.