LACROSSE, Wis. – The fire chief in suburban French Island said that the fire that engulfed the Omaha Track recycling plant was town’s the worst industrial accident in in his memory. The fire, which broke out early Tuesday, consumed the equivalent to four football fields, said Chief Nate Melby. Crews spent 21-1/2 hours fighting the fire, he said. At a news conference he said:
“It was a very wind-driven fire, which created turbulence and voracity in the fire itself, so it made the fire burn faster and spread faster. So we set up what we call a defensive operation where we tried to control the perimeter of the fire.”
Melby doubts that the fire will rekindle, although he said it may smolder for days. Video surveillance tape in the area is being examined to help determine the cause, he said.