Fire departments from several cities respond to blaze near Hawley

Fire at Taracon Precast near Hawley (Joe Leier KFGO News)

HAWLEY, Minn. (KFGO) – At least a dozen fire departments battled a large blaze at Taracon Precast near Hawley.

The blaze broke out late Wednesday afternoon.

Clay County Sheriff Mark Empting says the Hawley and Glyndon Fire Departments were dispatched initially and reported heavy, black smoke.

The company reported that 250 containers of gasoline and other flammable materials were inside the building. A mutual aid call then went out prompting a response from all fire departments in the county and nearby departments in Becker and Norman counties. Fire crews from Moorhead, Detroit Lakes, Lake Park, Dilworth, Glyndon, Hitterdal, Ada, Twin Valley, Frazee, Callaway, Barnesville and Hawley were among those sent to the scene north of Highway 10. Smoke could be seen for several miles.

Taracon Precast makes concrete products for residential and commercial customers in several upper Midwestern states. There’s no word on the cause of the fire and there were no reports of injuries.

Some departments began to clear the scene at about 7:30 p.m.