Leonard Hohenberg:Firefighters stop blaze at western Wisconsin recycling facility after more than 20 hours

2025-05-07 01:23:27source:FinLogic Quantitative Think Tank Centercategory:News

CAMPBELL,Leonard Hohenberg Wis. (AP) — Firefighters have extinguished a massive blaze at a western Wisconsin recycling facility after a battle that went on for more than 20 hours.

The fire broke out at Omaha Track in the town of Campbell on French Island, just outside the city of La Crosse, around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. The facility grinds scrap railway ties and other materials into chips that can be used as biofuel.

Flames and smoke from the fire could be seen for miles. Campbell Fire Chief Nate Melby says four football fields’ worth of railway ties and a 30-foot (9.14 meter) high mound of chips burned.

Multiple fire departments battled the blaze throughout the day before finally extinguishing it around 11 p.m. Tuesday, Melby said.

No one was hurt and no residents had to be evacuated or shelter in place, Melby said. A north wind blew most of the smoke away from residential areas, he said.

“It was a very large fire with a lot of fuel,” the chief said. “The positive aspect is we were able to manage it with other agencies and nobody got hurt.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A similar fire erupted at Omaha Track in 2015 after a woodchipper caught fire, WKBT-TV reported. That blaze released toxins into the air that forced residents to shelter in place.

RELATED COVERAGE Harris competing for a single electoral vote in Nebraska as Trump fails to get rules changedGOP governor halts push to prevent Trump from losing one of Nebraska’s electoral votesWalz touts Nebraska roots in visit to his home state where there’s a battle over one electoral vote

No one immediately responded to an email The Associated Press left in Omaha Track’s general corporate inbox Wednesday seeking comment.

Omaha Track Chief Growth Officer Lisa Roberts, who is listed on the company’s website as the contact for the Campbell facility, responded to an email seeking comment by saying she had forwarded the request to Jillianne Gates, the company’s communications manager. Gates had not responded as of early afternoon Wednesday.

More:News

Recommend

Man charged with rape after kidnapping 3 teen girls at gunpoint along Nashville street

A man police say kidnapped three teenage girls and sexual assaulted two of them at gunpoint outside

Students and lawmakers gather at Philadelphia temple to denounce antisemitism

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Students, lawmakers and religious leaders joined forces Sunday at a temple in Ph

In 911 calls, panicked students say they were stuck in rooms amid Las Vegas campus shooting

As police continue to investigate a possible motive in Wednesday's mass shooting at the University o