By TIM ALEXANDER

Illinois Correspondent

EUREKA, Ill. — A July 30 grain elevator explosion has reduced storage capacity for farmers in Woodford and Tazewell counties as they prepare for corn harvest.

The explosion, which occurred in the early-morning hours before anyone had arrived for work at the Grainland Cooperative Eureka elevator, was heard and felt by residents from miles away and was captured on video by a security camera belonging to a nearby business.

No official cause for the explosion and subsequent fire has yet been determined, according to Grainland Cooperative General Manager Jeff Brooks.

“Our concrete house sustained the most damage and will be knocked down, and we lost two grain dryers,” he said, adding that more than 350,000 bushels of grain capacity were lost to the explosion. “We are still working on a plan for where to store the grain, but we don’t have anything definite to report yet.”

On August 4, a team of three workers were seen being lowered into the top of the burned-out elevator by crane. Crews were working to stabilize the area throughout last week. A salvage crew will be brought in to remove the grain from the structure after it is stripped of loose debris and damaged machinery.

“We are still in the cleanup process and are trying to make everything safer here. Concrete still has to come down. Machinery has been removed from the top, and in the next week they will be taking the grain dryers down. This will probably take them a couple of weeks,” Brooks explained.

With hot, dry conditions expected in the area for an extended period, grain elevators have been gearing up for an early corn harvest anticipated by many central Illinois farmers. Brooks said he is hoping for a post-Labor Day harvest in order to better prepare the Eureka elevator to handle what many are predicting will be a huge corn yield.

“We will be able to take grain this fall,” he said. “We’ve still got two dump pits so we will still be able to take corn and beans. We probably won’t be able to accept any grain until after Labor Day, however.”

In addition to the Eureka location, Grainland elevators are located in El Paso, Secor, Minier, Emden and Armington in central Illinois.

The video of the explosion was posted on the website of Peoria’s WEEK-TV and by other local news sources.