Monterey Mushrooms Production Facility Destroyed In Fire

MONTEREY COUNTY, CA – A mushroom production building was destroyed in a fire Tuesday morning in Royal Oaks, an unincorporated Monterey County community, Cal Fire officials said.

Crews responded to a report of light gray smoke seen at Monterey Mushrooms' facility at 777 Maher Court shortly before 8 a.m., Cal Fire officials said.

When firefighters reached the scene, they found a 10,800-square-foot production building in flames that posed a danger to crews if they entered the structure, prompting them to set up a defensive stand to
battle the blaze, according to Cal Fire.

The fire destroyed the production building and its contents, a total loss estimated by Monterey Mushrooms general manager Wayne Bautista as $1.2 million, according to Cal Fire.

Firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading to three other neighboring production buildings, a cooling tower and chiller with a total estimated value of $4.2 million, Cal Fire officials said.

The company's operations manager David Ghiglione said the recently refurbished building involved in the fire stored mushroom beds and humidity and temperature control systems, but no mushrooms, according to Cal Fire.

No injuries were reported.

More than 40 firefighters helped in battling the blaze including crews from the Aromas Tri-County Fire Protection District, according to Cal Fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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