By Marianne Lincoln

ROY, WA — Two cranes are outside the Wilcox Feed Mill tonight as operation have begun to stabilize the tanks adjacent to the one that collapsed on Monday afternoon and remove debris. The electrical control room for the plant has been destroyed. Cutting loose pieces of structures and welding in other supports will be part of the process. Chief Vellias said Monday an industrial engineer was being brought in to assist with the process along with the presence of Labor and Industries.

Until the tanks are stabilized, the work of locating the missing worker cannot proceed. Pump trucks are on site ready to begin removing some 480 tons of corn. According to a State Patrolman at the scene, this will begin sometime Wednesday morning. The name of the missing worker will not likely be released until he is recovered.

The News Tribune did a lot of homework for their story scrutinizing a history of Labor and Industries violations at the Wilcox operation over the past few years. You can read it here.

There is now a mobile command center set up on site. In this bitter cold weather, the heated unit is extremely valuable.  The Soup Ladies, volunteers who help provide hot soups and beverages to officers at trauma scenes were also on site during the day.

Traffic on SR 507 through Roy will also continue to be slow and congested, so plan a much longer commute if you take this route this week. The Pierce Prairie Post will continue to update you on this story as the clean up and recovery proceeds.