A large fire broke out Saturday at a plant operated by Hilmar Cheese Company — a business in Merced County that’s one of the largest cheese producers in the state. The fire erupted around noon and took firefighters nearly two hours to put out. The fire ignited inside one of the company’s three cheese plants. That building includes an assembly line that compresses cheese, according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Baraka Carter. No injuries were reported. The company’s visitor center — which includes a cafe — at the cheese company were all evacuated. The plant that caught fire is located behind the visitor center, according to the company’s marketing director Gwen Bargetzi. She said the fire was contained to the rooftop and did not spread to other facilities.