BREAKING: Fire Guts Knife River Ready Mix Plant Near Albertville

Firefighters from multiple area departments were still on the scene of a structural fire this morning after a blaze ripped through the Knife River Ready-mix concrete plant at 9625 71st St. NE in Otsego.

According to first responders, a call was placed to Wright County Dispatch shortly after 4 a.m. Monday. A Wright County Deputy was first on-scene, and could see flames shooting from the plant's main building from 70th Street Northeast as he headed west.

No one was at the plant at the time of the fire, and no one was injured in the incident. Fire officials are still investigating the cause.

Jerrry Lang, vice president of concrete in Central Minnesota for Knife River, said the plant operates from about 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

"It's really a tough time of year to have something like this happen, with the construction season really getting into full swing," Lang said. "We're very thankful no one was hurt. That's most important."

Lang said employees coming in for work Monday were able to get trucks parked outside the main building away from the fire. They will be moved to one of the company's multiple other Ready-mix plants around the area, including Becker, St. Cloud and Princeton.

"We'll disperse people and hopefully keep things going without a lot of interruption," Lang said. "We'll keep them working."

He said the plant employmos about two dozen workers, including drivers, loaders and office personnel.

A payloader and cement truck were destroyed in the fire.

Chief Tate Mills and his crew were still on scene doing "mop up" duty, spraying hot spots and flash points around the structure.

Delano, , Monticello and Albertville were all still at the site. Half of the building was missing from the structure's east side as crews tore away at the blaze.

The fire drew regional attention. Minneapolis ABC affiliate KSTP had footage of the fire on its morning news program. Meanwhile, popular radio station KQRS had a live report from one of its DJ's driving into work, who could see the fire from nearby Interstate 94.

"One of our truck drivers from Princeton was coming down and said he heard on KQ, of all places," Lang said. "He said he was saying to himself, 'Wait! I'm on my way there!' It's been a crazy morning."

According to its website, Knife River employs up to 5,000 people during peak construction season and is one of the 10 largest aggregate companies in the nation.