SUPERIOR, WISCONSIN, US — An investigation is underway following an explosion that extensively damaged a Viterra grain elevator the evening of Nov. 18 in Superior, Wisconsin, Northern News Now reported.
According to the Superior Fire Department, workers were evacuated and accounted for as emergency responders arrived on the scene following the 6:20 p.m. explosion. No injuries were reported.
The fire department said there was no fire, but several parts of the structure were smoldering with hot spots that firefighters had to put out.
Investigators said the explosion happened in a below-grade part of the plant and traveled up and out of the loading tower. Hatches and covers over the beltway and the tower were damaged. The cause has not been determined.
The elevator on Lake Superior handles grain for rail, truck and vessel. It has licensed upright grain storage capacity of 8.7 million bushels and flat storage of 1.23 million bushels, with a loadout capacity of 25,000 bushels per hour, according to Sosland Publishing Co.’s2025 Grain & Milling Annual.
