The photo visor plant fire continues
burning the skies of Winston-Salem
remain filled with smoke.
We've got the latest as crews tried
getting the situation under control. He
was like. Y'all gotta go, we have to go.
Can y'all come on I said how
are we supposed to leave?
We don't have a car my grandma, you know?
Thousands have been asked to evacuate their
homes where they are now and what comes next.
Plus the fire spending plumes of smoke
for miles, while city officials say
everyone should wear a mask outdoors
and some should just stay home.
I'm Ben Briscoe. We are digging into
this massive fire burning in Winston
Salem and as the sun goes down tonight,
anxieties are actually starting to
rise among some firefighters because
the wind is shifting out here.
We've really seen it with the plume
of smoke at the beginning of today.
It was going South,
arcing that way and now it
is crooking to the north.
You can see it start to change there.
That massive fire has caused
thousands of people to be asked to
evacuate and crews worked around
the clock to get it under control.
And to make sure people stay
safe W of money into Jenna.
Christina talked with the Fire
Chief a little while ago.
Jenna, what do we know right now?
Yeah, and Ben.
We know that there are a lot of crews
helping out with this situation.
It is all hands on deck.
We have fire crews from around the triad.
We have hazmat crews on scene in the EPA
came to Winston Salem about an hour ago.
They're going to do some air quality
testing and we do know crews are also
staying behind that one mile radius
as firefighters have battled the
smoke and flames for almost 24 hours.
Now crews may not be inside the
Weaver fertility fertilizer plant,
but they used helicopters.
And drones to get a better look inside today.
Now Fire Chief Trey Mayo says even though
the fire is behaving like they wanted to,
they aren't out of the woods yet.
That's why they're going to keep that
one mile radius for at least 48 hours
with which be tomorrow at 7:00 PM.
I don't know how much
more compelling I can be.
To to to try to make people understand
the seriousness of this situation.
Somebody who has spent many
decades in the fire service,
texting me earlier and said this is
potentially the largest explosion in U.S.
history. I don't know, I don't.
I can't magnified anymore than that.
Chief Mello says,
you know crews will eventually be
able to get back into the plant to
completely extinguish that fire.
They just don't know exactly
when that could be.
The minimum could be 48 hours and it
could even go at 7 to 10 days before
they can get back inside that plant.
Just think about this thing burning
for 10 days in the middle of town.
You know we did hear from a
Weaver spokesperson today.
It's the first time we've
heard from the company since
the fire started last night.
They said they had to make sure
all their employees are safe
before they wanted to talk.
And they say the company will
do whatever it takes to fully
cooperate with the investigation.
The biggest challenge we have
ahead right now is, you know,
keeping them safe and and
worried about their jobs.
We're going to continue to take care of them.
We will continue to work with the Community
and the people who have been displaced.
That's our number.
One goal is to take those who have
been displaced and get them back
in their homes as fast as possible.
People live in the neighborhood
out here started reporting hearing
loud bangs and explosions late last
night and crews have now been on the
scene for nearly 24 hours straight.
We're talking crews from Winston
Greensboro all over battling this thing.
Heavy clouds of smoke and massive
flames lit up the night sky yesterday.
This is video of crews using a drone to get
a bird's eye view of the flames right now.
Officials say no one has been injured and
no one inside the building was damaged.
Now we want to give you a better
sense of what it actually looks like.
We got this picture from city
leaders last night.
Everything inside that circle.
Businesses homes.
Everyone who lives there was asked
to evacuate the area.
The city includes a circle in
Forsyth County Jail and part of
the Wake Forest University campus.
And take a look at where this is happening.
It's not just Winston-Salem.
More specifically,
think of a triangle between Wake Forest
University Smith Reynolds Airport and
the target off University Parkway.
The company is right there in
the middle of that triangle.
You know,
if you remember back a little while ago,
we saw a similar fire like this
down in Texas.
It's hard to forget the massive
fireballs down there and 2013 an
explosion at a fertilizer plant in West
TX killed more than a dozen people.
The West Fertilizer Company had
240 tons of ammonium nitrate.
That explosion killed 15 people.
Injured more than 200 and destroyed
150 buildings.
For comparison,
the plant in Winston Salem had 60
tons of chemicals in its plant.
Now crews have reported small
explosions in the building since
the fire started again.
What makes this fire so unique
is what is made at the plant.
You probably seen a bag just like this.
I picked it up at Lowe's today.
It is fertilizer and one of the
main components of this fertilizer
is this ammonium nitrate.
And as that burns out here,
doctors are saying that could
create some health hazards for you.
First off,
it is colorless and odorless until it's
ignite and it's caused by blast at
other industrial facilities over the years.
It's caused some problems there
to Winston Salem Fire Chief Trey
Mayo says it is very dangerous
and part of the reason he pulled
back fire crews and are focusing
on evacuations instead.
All of those are signs of a of a flare,
or an exacerbation of asthma or SAPD and
and these kinds of exposures are well
known triggers of these kinds of flares.
That was a Wake Forest professor
talking about the warning signs.
If you are in the area,
if you start to have a shortness of
breath or wheezing, watch out now.
City officials recommend everyone in
the area where a mask went outside.
They even go on to say the
highest grade mask you can
get your hand on is what you want to wear.
I will tell you I wasn't wearing
a better mask and in 95 earlier I
had a cloth mask on just being out
here for about 20 minutes. My eyes
started watering. I started sniffling
so I had switched that in 95.
I want to bring in chief meteorologist
Tim Buckley because we're all curious
how far can the smoke blow? Tim yeah,
then that's a really good
question. The most important
factor that will be watching,
weather wise, will be the
all important wind direction.
So which way is the wind blowing?
Where is it been pushing that smoke
so far today most areas to the West
or to the southwest of the Flames
have been getting that smoke. Today.
We're going to start to see that shifting.
A little bit into tonight.
These are our current wind directions
and wind speeds across the area.
Lately, we're seeing that getting
pushed to the north and to the West,
and that's generally going to be
the change that we notice tonight
and sticking around into tomorrow.
So if you live to the north or to the
West of where that fire is in Winston Salem,
you're going to be in the line
of that smoke and it could extend
upwards closer into parts of Surry
County and parts of Stoke.
So basically thinking right up Hwy 52 to
the north is where that smoke will be.
Tonight,
tomorrow and possibly into Thursday.
By Thursday,
we're looking at a wind shift
more out of the South and that
will bring our winds or smoke.
I should say a little farther north,
so we're going to continue to
watch the wind speed and the
wind direction very carefully.
The areas north and areas to the northwest.
You have to be careful from that smoke.
And of course, firefighters
say all of this could get even
worse at a moment's notice.
According to those firefighters,
they say right now, things
seem kinda under control. The
burning has been pretty stable,
but that chemical is very unstable.
Take a look at that.
Smoke continues to fill Winston-Salem.
It could go on for as long as 10 days.
We'll be right here with coverage
on the ground to keep you updated.