Scottsbluff, NE - Shortly after 4:00 PM on February 5th Scottsbluff Fire was dispatched to a fire at the Scottsbluff Recycling Yard located in the 900 block of 1" Avenue, and two minutes prior to this call, crews were also paged to an illegal burn in the 1900 block of West Overland. The first arriving units, arrived on scene to the Recycling Yard and were able to determine that the fire was contained to the south portion of the yard, however, due to the high winds, there was concern that embers would ignite dry, dead vegetation to adjoining properties and along the railroad tracks.
Due to crews being on another call at the time, Gering Fire was mutual aided to assist with suppression efforts, and a second alarm was put out for more personnel and the fire was brought under control within 20 minutes of the initial page.
In all, Gering Fire was able to provide six Firefighters, with a Tender and Type 6 Engine, and Scottsbluff Fire had nine personnel on scene, with a Type 6 Engine, and Type 1 Engine and were on scene for a little over two hours extinguishing hot spots. The railroad did shut down the tracks for a few hours due to the heavy smoke and potential of the fire spreading.
The fire was started due to hot embers from hot work that was being performed in the yard. This is a great reminder, again, that we have seen little moisture in the area and there is still plenty of dead, dry
vegetation, and under the right conditions, those fuels can ignite and fire can spread rapidly. If you are
performing any hot work, such as grinding metal, using a cutting torch, etc, ensure that you have a fire extinguisher available and any dead vegetation is cleared out. We also discourage this type of work on windy days. Additionally, within the City of Scottsbluff, it is against City Ordinance to burn trash, or
yard waste. You may have recreational fires, outdoor fireplaces, and fire pits, however, if it's windy we do discourage the use of them.
Additional agencies on scene included Nebraska Public Power District, Scottsbluff Police Department, and a representative from BNSF.
