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| | Mushroom Fire Raises Damage Concerns
By John Millrany - March 26, 2001Arson or spontaneous combustion?
Ventura County arson investigators will try to resolve that question while the company sustaining a huge loss in the blaze that consumed a mushroom farm, Pictsweet, is grappling with a potentially major problem: accountability.
If Pictsweet is shown to be culpable in the fire that broke out March 11, it could be looking at fines of up to $75,000 a day—or $525,000 for the 7-day blaze. Meanwhile, the Tennessee-based company has offered to pay for the firefighting tab and has also proposed a $10,000 reward for the conviction of an arsonist, if in fact the fire was manmade.
The fire broke out in a compost heap at the farm, which was the subject of a 10-month investigation looking into the question of possible contamination from the compost heap, 3.2 acres of straw and manure. Preliminary information by investigators indicated the cause was probably spontaneous combustion. However, officials are checking other leads, including an allegation by some farm workers that an arsonist might have been the cause.
Investigators said the reason it took so long to knock out the fire was that state and federal environmental officials asked them not to apply water to the smoldering pile for fear that aquifers, the nearby Santa Clara River and wildlife areas might become contaminated. Also investigating is the California Regional Quality Control Board.
After the earlier investigation, the board issued more stringent regulations at the farm, requiring installation of plastic linings under the compost piles to keep runoff from contaminating underground water.
According to company officials, compost piles at the facility had grown in size lately because of a union-backed boycott of Pictsweet products.
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