SALT LAKE CITY — Tuesday's three-alarm fire at a recycling facility meant more than 60 firefighting personnel rushed in to get a handle on a massive blaze.
After the initial flames were knocked down, crews continued to turn the pile of smoldering rubble with front-end loaders and pour water on it.
But the big issue for many of those in nearby neighborhoods was the smoke, and that toxic plume could be seen for miles in just about every direction.
Mateo Ochoa is a ninth grader at East High and said he saw it as soon as he left class, even though it was several miles away. He lives just to the east of the recycling center and said his friends were concerned.
“They were like, ‘Yo, I saw this big cloud of smoke, where is that?' And I told them it was close to our house and they got concerned, like that’s crazy!”
Salt Lake Fire Captain Chad Jepperson said all that smoke was the result of the items that were burning in and around the building.
“The majority of it, it’s a combination of wood and electronics," Jepperson said. "This is part of a recycling operation, so that’s where the nasty smell is coming from is the plastics and other things that are in that.”
At one point, the fire department sent an alert on X, warning people about the smoke: “If you’ve got smoke, if you’re in the smoke, either at your home or near the scene, you need to be out of it.”
But that was a lot easier said than done for folks living in the neighborhoods downwind of the blaze — including a trailer where FOX 13 News caught up with SoFi.
She said she lives with a woman who has a toddler.
“Yeah, he is two years old so he needs to be in his room," she said. "I need fresh air.”
Mateo Ochoa said it as similar situation for him and his family.
“I’ve been smelling it in my house. It smells like burnt rubber….It’s nasty," he said. "My dad has a little bit of asthma and his lungs are not really that good.”
Fire officials say they have no idea yet what sparked the blaze.
The good news is there were no reports of any injuries, either from those working at the building or among the first responders.
And the smoke that was drifting into those neighborhoods east of the fire finally dissipated.
