SAWYER (AP) – A privately owned grain elevator in Ward County has burned down.

The Associated Press reports the former Sawyer Farmers Coop Elevator was destroyed by a fire that began shortly before 6 a.m. on Sunday.

Firefighters from Sawyer, Velva and the Minot Rural Fire Department were on the scene for hours, trying to keep the fire from spreading from the main elevator structure to nearby bins and auger equipment.

Owner Nathan Smith says he had tens of thousands of bushels of peas, barley and wheat in the elevator but he was unsure how much the loss would cost him.

Smith says it was sad to see it burn, especially since it was one of the first storage facilities he purchased for his farming operation about 15 years ago.

Another fire was reported at an elevator in southeast Minot Saturday evening. For a photo from that scene, see Page A2.