Despite an early morning fire that burned a portion of the Sonora wool and mohair warehouse in Sonora, Texas, the warehouse is still in business.
"I want to let growers know that we are still in business and that we do not intend to quit," stated Seco Mayfield, warehouse manager. "In fact, we are receiving our first clip of mohair for the season today."
There are a total of four buildings that belong to Sonora Wool and Mohair. Early Monday morning, Dec. 14, a fire consumed the building that housed a retail store, a feed store and the offices. Investigators determined that the cause of the fire was electrical in nature and originated above the ceiling. The bulk of the warehouse was not burned.
"Unfortunately, the retail store and the feed store experienced complete loss," commented Mayfield. "The wool and mohair office was lost along with a lot of the historical information of the business; however, the majority of the current documents survived having been filed in a fire proof vault and in a concrete fire-proof filing cabinet. The wool and mohair that we have stored does not appear to have been damaged."
According to Mayfield, there was a small amount of wool and mohair that had been sold and had been moved into the building that burnt for delivery. No one has been allowed into the building yet, but from a distance, Mayfield believes that even though the wool is burned, it looks like it may still be scourable.
"There is never a good time of year for a fire, but in the wool and mohair business, this is a time of the year where our inventory is at its lowest," said Mayfield. "By the time we start accepting wool and mohair again after the first of the year, everything will be cleaned up and we will be ready to go.
"Our warehouses are intact and we have secured temporary office space, so it is business as usual for Sonora Wool and Mohair," concluded Mayfield.