LONGVIEW, Washington (From news reports) -- The Longview Fire Department is investigating the cause of Monday's two-alarm blaze in a building on Nippon Dynawave property.

Longview Battalion Chief Mike Gorsuch said Monday, Aug. 25, that Patriot Rail's Cowlitz and Columbia Railway warehouse and locomotive repair shop is a total loss.

He said the building is used to repair and maintain railroad equipment.

Longview Fire said the blaze was contained to the one building. No injuries were reported.

Nippon Director of Support Services Brian Wood said Monday the fire had not affected operations at the paper mill along the Columbia River.

Wood said the structure is on Nippon Dynawave property and leased to Patriot Rail.

Nippon Dynawave, 3401 Industrial Way, primarily makes cartons for milk and juice.

The Longview Fire Department was called to the site about 4 p.m. Monday for reports of a fast-moving industrial fire, according to a statement from the agency.

Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue, Cowlitz Fire District 5, Columbia River Fire and Rescue and Medix Ambulance responded as well.

Fire crews were able to contain the fire to the building and were able to save some nearby vehicles, including construction equipment, from the blaze.

Longview police and the Department of Natural Resources patrolled the area to make sure wind didn't spread burning debris beyond the site, Longview Fire said.

Fire investigators and two fire engines stayed to mop up hot spots until 10 p.m.

Early on, all staff were accounted for outside the building.

2023 fire
Nippon Dynawave is the site of a large chip fire in September 2023. Investigators reported the fire was ruled an accident, but the exact cause of the blaze couldn't be determined.

The flames, fueled by wood chips, took days to be fully extinguished and damaged conveyor belts, a barge dock, a barge, and a maintenance outbuilding, according to the Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue report.

That blaze sent smoke across Southwest Washington, causing unhealthy air conditions.

Previously, Wood said the 2023 fire started "during Red Flag-like conditions of unusually low humidity, high temperature and strong winds."

The high in Longview-Kelso on Monday was in the upper 80s, but an extreme heat warning previously issued through Tuesday night was lifted.

With roughly 1,500 employees between the two, according to state data, Nippon and fellow Longview paper mill Smurfit Westrock employ the largest share of the roughly 7,400 people in Cowlitz County who work in manufacturing.