Shelter-in-place order ends for part of Marinette that was affected by blowing smoke from paper mill fire in Menominee, Michigan
A shelter-in-place order ended Friday evening for part of the city of Marinette that was instituted because of blowing smoke from an overnight paper mill fire in Menominee, Michigan.
A cancellation announcement was made around 6 p.m. Friday by the Marinette County Division of Emergency Management.
Fire crews continue to monitor a fire that started about 10:40 p.m. Thursday at Resolute Forest Products, 701 Fourth Ave., in Menominee, Michigan.
The plant, a branch of a Montreal-based paper company, manufactures paper pulp and employs nearly 100 people.
The fire was reported in warehouse space that Resolute leases from KK Integrated Logistics, according to a statement from David Marshall, director of sustainability and public affairs at Resolute Forest Products.
The company stores recyclable bales of paper in that warehouse. Those bales are manufactured into recycled bleach kraft pulp.
"It is difficult to currently assess damage because of smoke at the scene," Marshall said. "It does appear that the administrative offices located in the leased warehouse have succumbed to the fire. We do not know at this time if the fire spread to the core pulp manufacturing area on the west side of the mill site."
There were no injuries reported, Marshall said. The mill is idled.
Menominee County on Friday issued an emergency declaration in response to the fire, warning those with respiratory and other medical conditions were at a high risk due to the smoke. The Marinette Police Department also closed Stephenson Island, Boom Landing, 6th Street Slip and Menekaunee Harbor due to air quality concerns.
Menominee is across the Menominee River and the Michigan-Wisconsin border from Marinette, about an hour's drive north of Green Bay.
Contact Rebecca Loroff at 920-907-7801 or rloroff@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RebeccaLoroff.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Fire crews battle industrial plant fire in Menominee, Michigan
