Flames that engulfed recycled plastic at the Atkore manufacturing facility in Albuquerque Sunday, growing into a three-alarm fire, have now been completely extinguished. The fire department also said fewer residents were exposed to the toxic smoke than initially feared.
Spokesperson for Albuquerque Fire Rescue Lt. Jason Fejer said county crews were called off late in the night Sunday and city crews continued to monitor some smoldering overnight. He said operations ended midday Monday and the site has been turned back over to Atkore.
“They’re going to have a long road ahead of them of trying to clean up the remnants of the burnt plastic and damage to the buildings,” he said.
He said AFR and the state Environment Department were confident in letting an air quality health alert expire at 10:00 a.m. since the fire was letting off “minimal” hazardous smoke overnight and into the morning.
Fejer said exposure to the smoke was minimized when an expected shift in the wind didn’t materialize.
“We were lucky with the prevailing winds, and where they were taking that smoke was pretty much out to the largely unpopulated areas of Kirtland Air Force Base,” he said.
He said the fire department has pinpointed a vehicle on the northwest corner of the property as the origin of the blaze, but it remains unclear whether it was lit intentionally. He said findings will be released in the coming days, but there’s so far no indication criminal charges will be filed in the case.
