California food plant fire prompts evacuations for thousands

SALINAS, Calif. (AP) — A massive fire at a Northern California food processing plant plume prompted authorities to tell thousands of nearby residents to evacuate and to order tens of thousands more to stay inside their homes. The fire at the Taylor Farms packaged salad plant in Salinas started Wednesday night and was still burning Thursday morning. Authorities initially said they feared the fire could generate an explosion and a plume of hazardous ammonia. But the Salinas Fire Department said later that those threats appeared to be minimal. About 2,700 people near the plant were told to evacuate and 35,000 were told to stay inside with windows closed.