A fire July 4, 2025, left charred remains at Prairie Wood Products in Prairie City. (Justin Davis/Blue Mountain Eagle)

PRAIRIE CITY — A Fourth of July fire at Prairie Wood Products has turned a single structure into a shell of charred metal and wood.

Prairie City Fire Chief Marvin Rynearson said he became aware of the fire sometime between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on the night of Friday, July 4. Ryanearson said the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

“We had three well experienced investigators here from the Oregon State Fire Marshalls and Oregon State Police and their determination is that it’s undetermined,” he said.

Darrell Holthusen, the East Side manager for Prairie Wood Products’ parent company, DR Johnson Lumber Co.,  said the fire destroyed the break room, center offices and electrical room. Holthusen said there is no estimate of damages at this time.

Rynearson said circumstance likely contributed to the severity of the fire.

“All the smoke in the air from the fireworks and different stuff that was going on, it was kind of late being turned in — it burned for a while,” he said. “It was pretty well going by the time we got there.”

Rynearson said efforts to ensure the blaze is completely extinguished, including setting sprinklers onto the charred remains of the building, continued into the morning of July 7.

In the wake of the fire, Rynearson said he wanted to remind the public that fire risk is extremely high and to be conscious and diligent of any outdoor activities such as mowing lawns or trimming weeds that can lead to fires. Fire conditions this year are worse than they were last year, Rynearson said.

“We all know what happened last year,” he said.

Rynearson said the prediction is this year could be twice as bad as last year, although he’s hopeful that won’t happen to Grant County. Still, events throughout the state can offer a glimpse into how bad this year’s fire season could be.

“We’ve already had two conflagrations in the state and one emergency response assistance in the state in the month of June, there is no history for that,” he said. “If that’s an indicator of where we’re headed — we’ve got a long summer ahead and everybody has to do their part to make sure everything is secure.”