By Scott Roblin

Producers stepping up to assist RedHat Co-op during fire recovery

May 29, 2018 | 4:56 PM

REDCLIFF, AB – Just days after a destructive fire tore through RedHat Co-op in Redcliff, the clean up process is well underway.

On Saturday, firefighters from Redcliff, Medicine Hat, and Cypress County battled a monstrous blaze that took hours to extinguish at the vegetable packing giant.

Closed since the fire, general manager Gillian Digman said they’re hoping to re-open shop within a matter of weeks.

“It amazes me that we’re only day three in after the whole thing and we’re so far ahead already,” said Digman. “But, we just take it one day at a time. I’d like to think a couple of weeks, maybe three at the most.”

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Entering the height of growing season, all long English and mini-cucumbers that would have gone through RedHat are now being diverted to Big Marble Farms southwest of Medicine Hat.

Big Marble Farms CEO Ryan Cramer said with plenty of space at their operation, it just made sense to move packing for the region to their greenhouses.

“We had to formulate a plan,” said Cramer. “And for the two commodities that we grow and pack in this facility, it was an obvious choice that all of the other growers’ product was going to have to come here.”

All 280 employees that work out of RedHat will remain employed during the shutdown, with around 40 working the new night shift at Big Marble Farms to earn hours and keep up with demand.

Cramer said for the first time they’re packing around the clock with RedHat and their own workers, filling 11 semi-trucks on Tuesday alone.

“We packaged about 160,000 long English cucumbers, and that’s at least double of what we’re normally able to do in a 12 hour shift,” he said.

To go along with the 160,000 long English cucumbers, another 75,000 pounds of mini-cucumbers are going out the door.

Additional produce that is being picked this week is being taken to coolers at El Dorado Farms to be stored until they can be properly packaged.

Just focusing on cucumbers for the next few weeks, all tomatoes that Big Marble Farms usually deal with are being sent to Calgary for packing.

Despite the hectic schedules and the ongoing clean up at RedHat, Digman said there’s been no disruption for getting product out to retailers.

“There’s been very little disruption in the cucumbers and the mini cucumbers, and that’s thanks to Ryan at Big Marble Farms for allowing us to do that,” she said.

The Medicine Hat and District Food Bank also offered cooler space, even as they deal with a potential shortage of vegetables.

Co-executive director Celina Symmonds said they rely on RedHat for their vegetable needs.

“Our hearts are with them and so we’ve really not thought about us yet,” said Symmonds. “But, certainly we know the amount of donations that they give in a year, we certainly couldn’t provide that without extra donations.”

Until RedHat re-opens their operation, the Food Bank will look at acquiring new donors or buying their vegetables in the interim.

As for the clean up efforts, Cramer said the growers are taking time to personally help get RedHat back on its feet.

“As long as it takes,” he said. “So like I said, it’s all hands on deck, we’re cleaning as best we can, and we’re going to have that building cleaner than it ever was.”

And it’s those offers of support that’s making all the difference for Digman and the RedHat team.

“It’s really boosted our morale here, and made us even more positive and determined to get us back to normal as soon as possible,” she said.

The fire investigation remains ongoing, while there is no word yet on a cause or estimated damage to the building.