At 3:14 AM on August 31 Cottonwood Rural Fire Department was paged to respond to a report of a shop on fire at 210 Sonnen Road. Upon arrival it was identified that the shop was actually Sonnen Meats processing facility. The structure was fully involved with flames coming out of multiple windows. Power lines located at the front corner of the building were still live and Idaho County Light and Power was requested to respond to shut off all power to the location. Also hindering firefighting efforts was a disabled vehicle parked adjacent to the building and a propane tank which provided propane to the building. Due to the remote location, a request was put in for Cottonwood Highway District to respond with their large water truck as well as Grangeville Rural Fire Department to respond with their water tender. Water supply was also provided by two local semi trucks with water from Dale Stubbers and Doug Lustig. At 6:14 AM the fire was under control and a call was placed to the Idaho State Fire Marshall, who responded at 10:00 AM. Cause of the fire was determined to be accidental by the Idaho State Fire Marshal with a full investigation still pending at this time. Responding agencies included Cottonwood Rural Fire Department, Cottonwood Police Department, Grangeville Rural Fire Department, Cottonwood Highway District, Idaho County Sheriff's Office, Idaho County Light and Power, St Marys Hospital Ambulance, Dale Stubbers with a semi trailer with water and Doug Lustig with a wildlands pickup and a semi truck water trailer. This report was provided by Cottonwood Police Chief Terry Cochran.  John Mager shared this photo of the Sonnen Meats processing plant after firefighters had responded. The house and apparently some of the barns in the back appear to have been spared. |
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