Fire at a Pendleton Flour Mill is the latest blow to Northwest wheat growers

In mid-August, a massive fire swept through a 100-year-old flour mill in Pendleton. The Pendleton Fire Department evacuated the mill without incident, but officials say the building is a total loss. That’s halted production at the Grain Craft Pendleton Flour Mill, a central piece of the regional economy.

The fire comes in the middle of the wheat harvest season in Eastern Oregon and is the latest blow to an industry that has been plagued by drought and wildfires in recent years. But this year’s late spring brought wetter weather later in the year, improving growing conditions so much that it could be one of the best seasons yet.

Ben Maney, a wheat grower in the area and also the president of the Oregon Wheat Growers League, spoke with OPB’s All Things Considered host Crystal Ligori about the impact the fire has on the Pendleton community and where the wheat industry is heading.