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On July 19, 2005, the used tire storage area at Watertown Tire Recyclers in the Town of Shields, Wisconsin (northwest of the city of Watertown) started on fire, sending a large plume of acrid black smoke skyward. When it hit the top of our layer of the atmosphere, it began to drift towards Milwaukee. According to reports on WTMJ 620 AM and elsewhere, the smoke from the fire could be seen from Lake Michigan to the east, the Illinois state line to the south, and Madison to the west, and in my further travels later, I could even see the plume of smoke from as far away as Ripon, to the north! Apparently, one of the shredders at the plant had broken down, and tires were piling up awaiting its replacement. The situation had become so bad that the company had requested a zoning variance from Dodge County, which was denied. As a result, the county and the state Department of Natural Resources were beginning the process of taking action against the company because
the growing pile of tires was more than what was allowed.
Because of the toxicity of the smoke, people in and around Watertown were advised to keep their windows and doors closed and avoid circulating any outside air into their homes, businesses, or cars. Nonetheless, plenty of people turned out to watch the smoke billowing into the air and the constant parade of fire trucks making their way to the scene of the fire. Over thirty fire departments were involved in the containment operation, and I saw fire equipment from as far away as Iron Ridge, Johnson Creek, and Sun Prairie. Local officials as well as the Wisconsin State Patrol blocked off area roads, and there were several people directing traffic along WIS-19 south of the fire, where most all of the fire equipment was getting water. A WTMJ-TV 4 news helicopter could also be seen circling the fire, getting plenty of footage for the news.
A fire department spokesperson said that it would be "extremely optimistic" to expect the fire to be out within several days. Tire fires in other parts of the country have lasted weeks or as much as nine months before going out! However, within days, a special chemical was on its way from Georgia by truck, designed to encapsulate and extinguish the burning oils from the tires. With the help of this chemical (F-500), the fire was out by July 24!
Later investigation revealed that the most likely source of the fire was a front-end loader, buried up to its axle and engine compartment in shredded tire debris. The debris was already hot from the grinding process, and the hot and humid conditions of the previous few days allowed for very little cooling of the debris. However, due to the amount of destruction from the fire, a definite cause for the fire is impossible to determine, though investigators found no electrical or gas failure, nor evidence of an intentional act. |
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