Ag business fire in northern Illinois prompts evacuations

AMBOY, Ill. (AP) - A factory and several homes were evacuated after fire broke out at an agriculture business in rural northern Illinois.

The fire broke out about 3 a.m. Friday at the Nutrien Ag Solutions facility near the Lee County community of Amboy.

Amboy Fire Chief Jeff Bryant says about 50 residents and some 30 workers at a nearby factory were evacuated from the area because of concerns about possible contamination from herbicides stored in the building about 40 miles southwest of Rockford.

While fire destroyed much of the facility, Bryant says no chemicals leaked from their storage tanks. The evacuation order was lifted after about four hours.

No injuries were reported. No workers were inside the business when the fire broke out and a cause for the blaze wasn't immediately determined.