Storm microburst demolishes 17 Calcot cotton warehouses in Arizona

A powerful weather event called a microburst demolished 17 warehouses and damaged 21 remaining structures at Calcot Limited’s cotton warehousing facility in Glendale, Ariz. (Phoenix area) on Oct. 18. The extent of the damage at the Calcot site was so significant that the City of Glendale issued an “unsafe to occupy” notice on the 70-acre parcel until further investigation. Glendale ordered Calcot staff to vacate its office by Oct. 25 at 5 p.m. Calcot appealed the order to allow essential staff to work. Calcot is a cotton marketing cooperative based in Bakersfield, Calif. and markets cotton for grower members in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas...more