Billowing clouds of black and gray smoke, originating from Spanish Fork Wednesday evening, could be seen throughout Utah County.

At 6:47 p.m. police, fire and EMS personnel were dispatched to Mountain Country Foods located at 185 E. 1600 North in Spanish Fork on a report of a large warehouse that was on fire. It was reported that the heavy smoke and flames were visible from the roof area of the building, according to the police report.

Due to the size of the warehouse and reported size of the fire, several different fire agencies were dispatched to assist. The fire agencies that responded to assist were from Spanish Fork, Payson, Salem, Mapleton and Provo.

“Four employees were in the warehouse at the time of the fire. They were able to exit the building and were later checked out and released at the scene for what was reported as minor smoke inhalation,” said Lt. Brandon Anderson.

Fire investigators reported that it was contained to a 40,000 square foot building that houses a large oven. The cause of the fire is still under investigation but is believed to have started from some type of mechanical malfunction from the oven or conveyer belt, according to Anderson.

Officials were still assessing the scene and were unable to provide an estimate on damages Thursday.

Mountain Country Foods was founded in 1974 by Doug Ford and has been a family owned and operated company for over 46 years. They are one of the largest pet treat manufacturers in the United States.

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