A fire broke out last night at Olam International’s almond factory at Carwarp, near Mildura.
The Weekly Times reports that a pile of about 75,000 tonnes of almond hulls caught fire adjacent to the factory. CFA fire crews attended the fire at about 11.30 last night.
CFA spokesman Glenn Thompson told news.com.au that seven CFA crews were called to the blaze. He added that the blaze was brought under control and he did not believe the $60 million factory was under threat.
The almond hulling and processing plant was only opened in March this year. The largest plant of its kind in the southern hemisphere, it received $1.1 million investment from the Victorian government.
The fibrous almond hulls which caught alight were intended to be used as fuel for a million dollar power plant which is planned to be built next year.