Dark smoke rises from behind the main complex of the Peoples Cartage building where a fire reignited Sunday evening. First responders continued containment procedures Monday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

PARKERSBURG – The fire at Peoples Cartage is contained and crews are now focused on putting the fire out, officials told the Wood County Commission on Monday.

Local emergency officials and community representatives appeared before the commission to give an update on the fire that broke out Sunday morning at the Camden Avenue facility just outside the Parkersburg city limits and sent a thick plume of black smoke into the air that could be seen for miles around.

Wood County 911 Director Dale McEwuen said the fire was 100% contained and around 35% put out as of 9:30 a.m. Monday morning.

“The good news is it is contained and we are in the extinguishment phase now,” he said.

McEwuen said plastic fires are extremely difficult to extinguish.

Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard gives a briefing on the different aspects of the fire at Peoples Cartage before the Wood County Commission Monday morning. Commissioners had officials come in to give briefings on the fire along Camden Aveue, just outside the city limits of Parkersburg. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

“It doesn’t want to go out,” he said. “Once it gets hot, that heat wants to stay in there.”

Crews on the scene are utilizing excavators to open the building up a little bit so fire crews can get access to the fire by opening up walls and the roof, McEwuen said. He said crews are looking for more excavators that can be brought in to help with firefighting efforts.

The equipment is utilized to open up the structure from the outside without putting fire crews in immediate danger trying to gain access, McEwuen said.

There were 27-30 agencies from Wood County and the surrounding counties, including Washington County, Ohio and other parts of Ohio, who came in to help with efforts to battle the fire, Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard said.

He said the fire officials in command of efforts fighting this fire were also involved in fighting the IEI warehouse fire in 2017 with Ron Utt of the East Wood Volunteer Fire Department and Mark Stewart of the Lubeck Volunteer Fire Department who are the incident commanders in both fires.

“We are very fortunate to have people who were there during the IEI fire,” Woodyard said.

From information at the scene and corresponding inventory sheets, McEwuen said the materials inside the structure were high carbon polymer and high carbon rubber polymer. Woodyard said they did not detect any indications of nuclear, biological or chemical materials at the site, despite what some people are posting on Facebook and social media.

Woodyard said air quality monitors were set up around the facility’s footprint by the federal Department of Environmental Protection and the state EPA as well as crew utilizing mobile units to go out in the community around Winding Heights Road, about two air miles from the site, to monitor air quality.

At the scene Monday afternoon, McEwuen stated a shelter-in-place was in effect for an area across the Little Kanawha River from the fire. The shelter-in-place was initiated after particulate levels in the air reached a concerning level for more than 30 minutes. He stated that it was unclear when the shelter-in-place would be lifted.

During the commission’s briefing, McEwuen said the particulates levels had stayed down Sunday and officials did not have to do a shelter-in-place recommendation.

The federal EPA has informed him that 30 parts per million was hazardous.

“Here the particulates got up into the 20s (Sunday), but as it cooled off and went into the evening, it went way below the 20,” McEwuen said of the air quality.

Woodyard said the airspace around the site had to be closed off as unauthorized drones were being flown in and interfering with operations onsite as well as causing problems for drones being used by emergency officials to help direct efforts. The sheriff said some people also had to be removed from the area who were “sightseeing.”

Community members have been dropping off donations to the Wood County Resiliency Center since midday Sunday, said Director Sydney Weber. They opened a precautionary shelter around 4 p.m. Sunday and after five hours they reported having no participation. They closed down the shelter operation to conserve resources.

“We are ready to open again if needed,” she said.

Officials with the United Way said they received no calls from anyone seeking shelter.

Delegate Dave Foggin (R-Wood) said he has been getting calls from people wondering what they needed to do to protect their vegetable gardens and livestock from the material in the air that is also getting into local water sources. Questions also covered how long the material will stay in the water. People had concerns about fish in local waterways and if they would be safe to eat. Some things could be covered by common sense, like washing vegetables, but there were other concerns he wasn’t sure about.

“People have a lot of questions about watering their livestock,” Foggin said. “They are scared. Is their cow going to die tomorrow if they drink out of the pond today?

“People are asking me questions that I am not qualified to answer.”

Officials told Foggin people could contact the federal and state EPA officials for advice.

Foggin believed that people needed to use common sense in washing vegetables and more.

A message was left for Wood County Extension Agent JJ Barrett Monday afternoon about caring for livestock, but he had not responded by press time.

Woodyard said officials were keeping an eye on weather conditions.

The National Weather Service in Charleston has been monitoring weather and wind patterns throughout the week. Meteorologist Jennifer Barryman said the Mid-Ohio Valley should expect westerly winds moving from west to southwest throughout the next few days.

“For the area it looks like westerly winds from west to southeast for the afternoons and a few storms popping up so potential for that to move and shift,” she said.

Due to the storms, there is a potential for winds to shift. There are chances of rain and storms daily throughout the week which could continue moving smoke from the area.

“As far as winds goes, it should relax overnight,” said Barryman.

Officials said the cause of the fire has not been determined yet.

Woodyard would not expect the cause to be determined until an investigation can be conducted by the state Fire Marshal’s Office. West Virginia Fire Marshal Ken Tyree has been on the scene of the fire.

“They are going to take an active role in the investigation in determining the origin and cause of the fire,” Woodyard said. “That will be days down the road after the fire is put out.

“Even once it is out with the heat, it will take some time to get boots on the ground.”

Commissioner Jimmy Colombo said the fact the area went through the IEI fire, officials knew who to contact at the state and federal level who had resources onsite pretty quickly.

There are local fire fighters who are now experienced in how to fight this type of fire with the leadership in place to know how to do it. Also, all of the local fire departments have a strong history of cooperation.

“Our fire people really know how to work together,” he said.

Delegate Scot Heckert, R-Wood, had been at the scene of the fire, but wanted to highlight the work being done by the first-responders and the community who have come out to support them.

“The community outreach has been phenomenal,” he said. “Everyone is working together.”

Officials have commended community members who have brought in food and water for emergency crews working on the scene and making other donations to help.

Heckert acknowledges that people are scared and nervous as this is the second type of fire like this they have experienced in the past 10 years.

However, he stressed that there are different circumstances this time around and they are dealing with people who are being more open about what is in there.

There have been a lot of rumors being put on Facebook and social media about what is in the buildings, a lot of which has not been found to be true, Heckert said.

“I feel that everyone needs to relax,” he said. “Putting negative stuff on Facebook is not helping anyone.

“We need to worry about the first-responders who are there working and the people out there fighting this fire.”

People have a lot of concerns and questions, Heckert said. Once the fire is out, an investigation will be conducted and the information will be put out as soon as officials know, he added.

“I am just asking people to be patient and it will come,” he said.

Staff Reporters Amber Phipps and Gwen Sour contributed to this story.

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com