Fire at marijuana growing warehouse prompts evacuation; no one hurt

A fire at a marijuana growing facility that prompted the evacuation of about 80 workers has been deemed accidental but a specific cause remains unknown, a Spokane Valley Fire Department spokesman said.

Investigators are looking into what ignited the fire at Phat Panda warehouse at 2611 N. Woodruff Road on Saturday.

Dark, heavy smoke was coming from one of the grow rooms when crews arrived; the smoke was traced to a small, smoldering fire in a grow room and the fire was dying out on its own, department spokesman Scott Niebuhr said Sunday.

The fire prompted an evacuation of about 80 employees, according to the person who called dispatch at about 5:22 p.m.

No one was injured, Niebuhr said.

Twenty-five firefighters and 11 fire vehicles responded.