A huge plume of smoke.
What are you learning? Yeah. He,
guys, definitely a very
active scene out here.
You can see those flames.
It's really, really hot out here because
you can feel those flames behin.
I'm going to step out of the fr.
We can show you.
You can see the fire is really,
really burning.
I mean driving in from this location,
you can,
you can see it from miles and miles away.
I know, Sarah,
you mentioned that it was a potentially
new builds and that is exactly what it is.
It's actually an apartment compx
under construction right there.
Those plumes again going miles
and miles up into the air,
lots of lots of smoke in this a.
Charlotte fire currently
on scene trying to work.
You can see them in the distance spraying,
trying to get this fire under control.
But again this these flames are
very aggressive and they they ae
burning quite hot and quite fast
and obviously with a new build h
it with apartments and obviously
you have to think about those
raw materials like like wood and
lumber definitely some insulatin
that they can be used in the wa.
So it's a lot of things that
could fuel that fire.
Now again, we just got on scene.
We're we're learning to,
we're working to learn more as s
kind of is is under investigati.
We don't know a whole lot
right now what led to this,
but we do know that people
are out here in full force.
The roads on Barkley Downs are
kind of shut down right now.
So if you're driving in this ar.
Please take a different directi.
Charlotte and fire and medic around here
directing traffic to a different area,
but still very, very active scene right now.
You can see as we point over he,
these roads right here are also closed
down around the South Park Mall.
So if you're driving in this ar,
maybe take a different direction as of now.
But you can see the ladder is
currently up spraying that,
those flames, that water again,
you can maybe even see some
of those materials flying.
From the building a lot of difft
pieces of wood and foam even the
building itself on the very top
of I don't know you can see,
but some of it is crashing down currently
that those flames extremely str.
Again,
we are working to learn more bue
will make sure to update you with with
what we know as we continue to try to
figure out exactly what led to .
But until then we'll be out
here live all day trying to.
To bring you the latest Sarah,
Hey Austin. So before you got to the scene,
we heard some reports that peopn
the area were hearing explosion.
Are you hearing anything like t?
So I don't think we're
hearing an explosion per se,
but I think we're hearing the
that would kind of crash off of
the building onto the ground.
That's kind of those loud
bangs you could be hearing.
Again, we don't really hear
the explosions though,
but again as we just got on sce,
we're trying to learn more exacy
we'll be talking to Charlotte
fire pretty soon hopefully tryig
to get some information on how
they're fighting this fire.
Obviously those flames very aggressive,
but we'll make sure to update
you with the latest and but agan
Charlotte fire currently on scee
trying to put those flames.
Comes out and hundreds of peoplt
here taking videos, taking phot,
and that's the best way we can
tell the story as well.
If you can safely do so and you're around
this area and you see those fla,
please send them into WCNC on
our mobile app or e-mail them to
us at to our newsroom.
Because we'd love to see those photos
and kind of show exactly what ye
looking at so everyone else cany
informed and stay safe at this .
And Austin, I know you just got to the scene.
We see a lot of people around y.
I'm guessing they were evacuated
from office buildings around th.
That fire looks awfully close to
the building directly behind yo.
Is there any concern,
I know you're waiting to hear from officials,
but that these other buildings t
aren't part of the construction
site could catch on fire as wel?
Yeah. So we exactly don't know exactly.
We know that people were obviously evacuated
because we can see them out here in their
business clothes and business attire.
But as you can see, yes, very,
very close to some of these other buildings.
I know there's a building right
in front of it and it's I,
I would say 100 feet close
to that second building.
So there obviously is a concernt
those flames could reach other buildings.
But as you can see Charlotte fie
is working pretty diligently to
to spray those flames of water,
get that under control.
But it just seems that this thee
flames are growing even with
all the water being put on it.
Because again there is a littlet
of wind in the air and wind obviously
Stokes flames and that makes it
harder it get it gives those fls
oxygen to then breathe and grow.
But I don't know if in the lastw
seconds the top part of that new
build has actually fallen just a
little bit even more and that yu
can hear those crashings that ae
coming to the ground which can w
you maybe that's why some people
have been experiencing some sort
of maybe explosion type sounds
off and on throughout throughout
them fighting this fire.
Sarah.
So if you're just joining us ag.
We believe this is new construcn
behind the USI building at Fairw
and Barkley Downs in that area d
you want to definitely if you're
out and about which a lot of pee
are for lunch, avoid this area.
One of the things in this construction
is a lot of framework, wooden framework.
So that is so flammable.
I think that you know a new construction
like that. Oh there it goes,
there's a framework you see you can see
some of that collapsing right now is this.
This is at least a three alarm e
that's a massive fire. Avoid th.
Park area emergency vehicles are
still going there, getting ther.
If you have to drive near there,
you can take, you can take Sharn
Lane away from South Park.
You get over to Park Road and hd
in those directions around the .
But I would not go to the mall h
the amount of emergency vehicles there,
the fire and the people who are in that area.
And and I'm sure that many of te
homes have been evacuated nearby
because there's a lot of apartm,
condos around that area.
Ben Thompson joins us right now.
You're aware.
That is a highly populated area,
a big business here out there
at South Park Mall
for people who are vaguely familiar with the
area we are talking about, Fairview Lane.
This is just across from Saint
Nordstrom within South Park.
There's a number of businesses in this area,
a doctor's offices, There's a bh
of doctor's offices in this aren
addition to other apartment buildings.
So this is like much of Charlot,
an area that is exploding in grh
and you have all sorts of new ch
construction happening in this .