Granges, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A huge cloud hung over the Rhone between Sion and Sierre Saturday and drew crowds from miles around as a lumber yard caught fire and burned nearly to the ground. Dozens of police and firefighters from several towns fought the blaze for three hours and tried to keep crowds away, blocking off several roads in the area. Employees were working at the time but managed to escape and no one was injured.
The lumber yard is near a penitentiary, whose roads are signposted with warnings to keep off, but narrow country lanes around it were crawling with spectators Saturday as the fire roared.
On Sunday the main Granges-Chippis road, which gives access to the resort of Vercorin above, was still closed to traffic.
The owner, Dominique Arbellay, was out of the country at the time, but told Le Nouvelliste that the lumber yard was the work of his lifetime and there is virtually nothing left. As for the 12 employees, he says, the near future is uncertain.
News story, GenevaLunch, 8 June 2009.
Filed under: Society
Tags: Dominique Arbellay, fire, Granges, lumber yard, Valais
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One Response to “Valais lumber yard fire created monster smoke cloud”
July 12th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
[...] of the fire and there were no injuries. It is the second major fire in the area in a month, with a lumberyard going up in flames 8 June only a couple kilometres [...]