Taylor Farms factory fire: evacuations, shelter-in-place advisory lifted in Salinas

SALINAS, Calif. - Evacuation and shelter-in-place orders were lifted in Salinas on Thursday afternoon, following a massive fire and hazmat situation at an agricultural processing facility that had firefighters working for hours, officials said.

Crews continued to mop up as smoke still billowed form the Taylor Farms plant on Abbott Street in an industrial district on the city's south end.

The fire was initially reported at about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. The advisories were lifted at around 2 p.m. today. The building was declared a complete loss.

City officials had warned that there is a possible ammonia leak at the facility which could cause an explosion and the release of a plume of hazardous material. Taylor Farms makes packaged salads. 

Crews continued to mop up as smoke still billowed form the Taylor Farms plant on Abbott Street in an industrial district on the city's south end. 

The fire was initially reported at about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. The advisories were lifted at around 2 p.m. today. The building was declared a complete loss.

City officials had warned that there is a possible ammonia leak at the facility which could cause an explosion and the release of a plume of hazardous material. Taylor Farms makes packaged salads. 

According to the company, the facility was closed for winter and no production was happening there at the time of the fire.

"I very much appreciate the patience of our residents, I recognize the inconvenience during the last 17+ hours, your safety was our number one priority," Mayor Kimbley Craig said during a Thursday afternoon press conference, "One big ask I have of our community is that you continue to stay away from the area. It is still very much an active scene."

Because of the risk, firefighters pulled back from the plant and were letting the fire burn.

"The fire progressed to the point that it poses a significant risk for a potential explosion of ammonia that is located in the plant. For that reason, we pulled back our units to a safe area and have begun evacuation notices for the immediate area around the plant," said Sam Klemek, Deputy Fire Chief and Incident Commander, in a statement early Thursday while the flames were raging.

Taylor Farms also issued a statement as of about 2 p.m. saying the fire had been contained and thanked first responders for their assistance.

Residents in the shelter-in-place area were told to keep their windows shut and pets indoors while turning off heating, ventilation, and fans.

There are no reports of injuries.

Early indications are that a welding project sparked a fire in a wall and eventually spread to the attic of the facility, Salinas Fire Chief Michele Vaughn said Wednesday night.

Experts were waiting to see what kind of impact the fire will have to stores like Safeway and Walmart, which sell Taylor Farms packaged salads. 

"To have something like this happen in a transition period is just tragic," said Steve Del Masso, owner of Bay Cities Produce Co. Inc. in San Leandro. "This is such an important time in California. All your major processors like Taylors are moving from Arizona, where they’ve been for 6 months to California."

Officials with Taylor farms said in a statement Thursday that they will shift production their 20 other locations around the country, including thief facility in Yuma, Ariz.  '

"Our total production locations and geographic diversity is our best defense to this scenario," the statement says. "We will work to reassign and support our Salinas Foodservice production team this season as we rebuild the facility."

Bay City News contributed to this report.