BREAKING: Washington fruit operations destroyed by fire

This morning, The Weather Channel is reporting on devastating fires sweeping through Washington state. Multiple facilities, including fruit-growing operations, have been burned to the ground.

Here’s more from The Weather Channel:

A grass fire fueled by hot, dry and windy conditions quickly grew out of control in central Washington Sunday night, consuming homes and businesses and forcing dozens of evacuations as it threatened to burn through additional structures.

Due to an ongoing heat wave in the Northwest, temperatures in Wenatchee were still in the 90s as of midnight local time, according to weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman.

“Light surface winds eventually shifted northwesterly up to 15 mph Sunday evening into the overnight hours,”said Erdman. “Showers moved over Wenatchee, but only produced a trace of rain, given the dry air in place.”

As a result, the fire had reached homes and businesses within hours. According to the Wenatchee World, the first homes burned after 8 p.m. local time.

The flames also spread to businesses, burning through Michelsen Packaging, Northern Wholesale Inc. and the Bluebird fruit warehouse, the Wenatchee World reports. Propane and other chemical tanks at the businesses caught fire and exploded, sending a plume of flames into the night sky.

At around midnight local time, emergency responders were worried that the flames could lead to an ammonia leak at Bluebird, and instructed residents nearby to “stay inside, close all windows and doors, turn off all ventilation systems and seal themselves inside a room if possible”to prevent potential exposure.

As the heat continues this week, “the threat of thunderstorms with frequent cloud-to-ground lightning and shifting winds may lead to more fire starts in the heat-stricken Northwest.”