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After a devastating fire destroyed Taylor Farms' processing plant in Salinas, CEO Bruce Taylor announced plans to rebuild by April 2023.

"We already have engineers that have come in from Boston and flew in this morning to start to redesign and replace the facility. So what we're trying to do is go as fast as we can to replace the facility. So we believe this time next year we'll have a new plant up and running. That's our plan," Taylor said.

The fire broke out Wednesday night, which transpired in evacuation and shelter-in-place orders over concerns of a possible ammonia leak. The Salinas Fire Department was initially concerned that a leak could cause an explosion, but later focused its efforts on limiting the public's possible exposure to the chemical.

"There wasn't, in my mind, an ammonia leak," Taylor said. "So what happened was that when the fire started, as part of our emergency protocol, we pumped down the lines that carry the ammonia to the refrigeration system. And whenever you pump down the lines, there's some residual ammonia in those lines. You can't get it all out. So that's what leaked...and people smelled a little bit of that. But it was minor. The concern, of course, was the ammonia tank, which is well protected."

According to Taylor, part of the facility, like the shipping cooler and shipping docks, were spared. But the processing portion of the building is a total loss and will need to be rebuilt.

"I thought we might be able to save some equipment that I saw a video of this morning and it's just a melted pile of steel, so that's a total loss. But the rest of the facility we built around it with concrete and steel. And so that that looks to be in good shape," Taylor said.

This comes during a time when the facility normally ramps up operations for the season.

Now processing and packaging will move to the sister facility in Yuma, Arizona, which normally operates in the winter. The company will continue to receive produce from Salinas growers per their contracted agreements.

The change will impact about 700 employees who now don't have a place to work.

"It's hard on our team. As I thought about it, most of our senior management team has come through that facility," Taylor said. "Lots of our employees have been there for 25 years or more. It's a loss for them. It's like home. It's like losing your homestead, and so it's emotional for much of the crew."

According to Taylor, those employees will be kept on the payroll full-time.

"There will be no layoffs. They're going to be paid for 40 hours a week. We will ask them to do something, you know, whether it's working with our facilities, whether it's to go work in the school for the summertime or something. We would ask something of them," Taylor said.

The change will also affect freshness of the produce due to transportation time.

"We've got usually a 14-day shelf life. And so if you have to bring it back up here [Salinas], you take about two days out of the shelf life. So it's not optimal," Taylor said.

Taylor Farms anticipates moving back into the facility this weekend.

Salinas Fire Department told Action News 8 they are confident they know the specific cause of the fire but are not prepared to release that information to the public.

Taylor says it was caused by a welding maintenance accident.

"From what I understand, it was a contractor that came in to do the welding," Taylor said. "The next policy will be don't burn the building down."

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