Fire destroys farm building, equipment on Central Whidbey

Special agents with the National Park Service are investigating a fire in a large storage building that destroyed multiple pieces of farm equipment on Central Whidbey Wednesday.

The giant plume of black smoke just outside of Coupeville could be seen from miles around. People stopped on the sides of the roads to take photos of the ominous sign.

A total of 40 firefighters from departments across Whidbey Island responded to help battle the blaze, which was challenging to extinguish because the nearest fire hydrant was about a mile away, according to Chief Jerry Helm with Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue.

The farm, which is at the corner of Fort Casey Road and Terry Road, belongs to the federal government. A longtime Coupeville family, the Engles, had owned the property for generations, but the National Park Service acquired the farm. Island Potato LLC holds leases on the buildings and acreage until 2030.

Steve Hilborn, who owns Island Potato with Eric Rogers, said large pieces of farm equipment — including a planter, a Skid-Steer loader, a combine, a boom truck and a forklift — were inside the 7,250-square-foot metal pole building that was destroyed in the fire. In addition, he also lost a crabbing boat, his son’s pickup truck and a large amount of tools and other equipment.

Luckily, farm operators was in the middle of haying, so his baler and a tractor weren’t in the building at the time. Hilborn was out of town at the time of the fire, picking up equipment, when he got a call about the fire.

“There was nothing I could do,” he said. “It was a really helpless feeling.”

Jim Mirabile, acting deputy chief, said the fire was reported at 12:07 p.m. and the first firefighters arrived within minutes to find the building in flames. The first firefighters attacked the fire, but the 750 gallons of water in the truck didn’t last long. The nearest hydrant was about a mile away at the middle school, so trucks had to travel back and forth to fill up.

Firefighters weren’t able to get the fierce blaze under control until 2:29 p.m.

Fortunately, firefighters and equipment from North Whidbey Fire and Rescue, South Whidbey Fire/EMS, Oak Harbor Fire Department and the Navy fire department also responded to the emergency. A WhidbeyHealth ambulance crew, Island County Public Works and the Island County Sheriff’s Office were also on scene.

The Department of the Interior reported in a statement that one person sustained a minor facial injury in the fire. Heifers in a nearby building watched the fire with interest but appeared to be unaffected by the smoke. The firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to the other structures.

Helm said the fire department finally left the scene at about 8 p.m., although one firefighter stayed overnight to watch for flare-ups.

The cause of the fire is unknown. Four agents from the investigative arm of the National Park Service arrived Friday to look into the cause of the blaze.

As for the potatoes, Hilborn said he should be able to harvest them this fall with the equipment he still has. They are doing okay, he said, although yields are down significantly on the island among non-irrigated crops because of the dry weather.