What’s on fire in Houston? Blaze near Lawndale and Broadway sends thick black smoke into the sky
Firefighters battled a large blaze Monday afternoon at a recycling facility in southeast Houston. Videos shared on social media showed a massive plume of thick black smoke visible for miles across the city.
What we know
According to Fox 26, the Houston Fire Department responded to reports of a fire shortly after 2:45 p.m. near the intersection of Kellogg and Manchester streets in the Manchester neighborhood along the Houston Ship Channel. Officials said a large pile of tires and other debris caught fire at the facility.
Houston Fire Department Chief Thomas Munoz said crews upgraded the response to a 211 alarm within about an hour. More than 100 firefighters and additional equipment were sent to the scene. Officials said firefighters launched an aggressive attack on the flames instead of letting the materials burn out.
As of late Monday afternoon, no injuries had been reported. Authorities also said there were no evacuation or shelter-in-place orders for nearby residents. While a neighborhood is located near the facility, officials said homes were not in immediate danger.
Teams from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and HAZMAT units were monitoring air quality at the scene. Officials said no environmental concerns had been identified as of Monday evening.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. It was not immediately clear how long crews would need to fully extinguish the blaze.
Texas lawmaker Carol Alvarado addressed the fire in a Facebook post, writing, “By now y’all have probably seen this fire in the East End. We are monitoring it too. Houston Fire Department is working to contain the blaze. As we learn more, we will let you know.”
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Videos
Dense black smoke continued to rise from the site during the evening rush hour. The plume prompted numerous calls and social media posts from residents across the Houston area.
One resident reported on Facebook, “Still quite visible from Gulf Fwy heading out of downtown.”
Another added, “Wow and I live nearby. Half of the sky is all gray.”
A third person wrote, “They also have a bunch of tires piled up there, thats what appears to be burning, Mammoth Recycling.”
Another local resident added, “I was at the Circle K and went behind the Circle K with everyone else and that smoke is definitely thick. But it doesn’t smell at all.”