Area around fire remains evacuated
GRANDVIEW, Wash. – About 100 homes and businesses remained evacuated Thursday as a chemical fire continued to burn in south-central Washington, sending potentially toxic smoke into the air.
State and federal authorities were monitoring air quality near the Wilbur-Ellis Co., an agricultural chemical and fertilizer retailer, where the fire broke out Wednesday afternoon.
Authorities had not detected dangerous levels of toxic chemicals in the air beyond 100 feet from the building, but about 400 residents remained out of their homes as a precaution, said Mark MacIntyre, a spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“They want to be cautious, because the nature of the fire is still questionable,” MacIntyre said.
Interstate 82 between Sunnyside and Prosser reopened Thursday morning after being closed for about 18 hours. The Grandview School District, which serves about 3,000 students, was closed Thursday as a precaution, and was to remain closed today, MacIntyre said.
About 40 evacuated residents were staying at a shelter set up at the Sunnyside Community Center.
The fire sent a funnel of smoke hundreds of feet into the air when it broke out Wednesday afternoon, forcing the evacuation of homes and businesses within a half-mile of the company.
The resulting plume left an odor resembling burning rubber or rotten eggs. Dozens of people were checked at area hospitals after complaining of skin irritation or respiratory problems.
Four people were hospitalized Thursday in Prosser due to respiratory ailments, said Stephanie Williams, spokeswoman for Prosser Memorial Hospital.
“For anybody who has some compromised respiratory system, with asthma or something like that, those are the people who might require some care,” she said.
The fire was in a 40-by-80-foot building used for storage of agricultural chemicals and fertilizers in the complex, which included a warehouse and office building, on the outskirts of this town of roughly 8,500 people about 40 miles southeast of Yakima.
Authorities decided to let the fire burn itself out, rather than douse it with water that could increase the pollution risk and cleanup problems. A temperature inversion with fog, low clouds and a lack of wind kept the smoke from dissipating.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.