Over 2,000 people evacuated after fire at Indiana recycling plant; blaze caused by burning tractor-trailer

INDIANAPOLIS — A large industrial fire at a facility in Richmond, Indiana, storing plastics and other recyclables led authorities to order an evacuation of nearby areas.

The fire, northwest of Richmond's downtown area, sent thick, choking clouds of black smoke high enough into the atmosphere that they were visible on satellite radar.

The evacuation orders affecting thousands of residents remained in place Wednesday night as crews worked to put the fire out.

"We have a serious, large-scale fire with a very thick plume of black smoke in the air," Richmond Mayor Dave Snow said. "Buses are being utilized to evacuate residents who need it."

Snow said the inferno was caused after a semitruck caught fire on Tuesday and the blaze spread to the building, which was storing plastic and other recycled materials.

By Wednesday night, multiple fires were still burning within about 14 acres of various types of plastics stored inside and outside buildings at the facility site.

Richmond Fire Chief Tim Brown said the fire was contained but not under control.

“We are attempting to put the fire out. We are not letting it burn. Evidently there’s some misinformation out there that we’re letting it burn,” Brown said.

Officials have said the smoke is toxic to breathe.

The Environmental Protection Agency and Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) were at the facility and evaluating any potential hazards, Snow said.

"We know there are toxic entities when you burn plastics and other types of materials like this," Snow said. "To what degree, that is what the EPA and IDEM are trying to evaluate now."

MORE: Indiana plastics recycling warehouse that caught fire had previous safety citations

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Thousands of Richmond residents evacuated after fire

More than 2,000 people living within a half-a-mile radius were evacuated, according to officials with Wayne County Emergency Management.

People outside the half-mile radius who live downwind of the fire were advised to keep windows closed and to stay inside.

As crews battled the fire, Bethesda Ministries its doors as a temporary shelter, according to Wayne County Emergency Management.

Chief Mike Britt of the Richmond Police Department called the fire "a huge public hazard."

“We’ve had quite the problem with bystanders moving in close to the fire," Britt said in an interview with the Richmond Palladium-Item, part of the USA TODAY Network. "This has been an explosion hazard since the first flames. We’ve had numerous explosions.”

No residents had been injured as of Wednesdayevening. One firefighter injured an ankle while battling the blaze, Wayne County officials said.

How long the fire could burn was still unknown. Brown said his goal was to put out the fire by Saturday morning but "that’s a guess."

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to Brown. Indiana Department of Homeland Security spokesperson David Hosick said officials were hoping to be able to access the building Wednesday evening or Thursday to begin their investigation.

Recycling facility had previous safety violations

Court documents revealed that the plastics recycling warehouse had been previously cited as unsafe.

Brown said Wednesday that fire crews and the city had been trying to get the warehouse to clean up its buildings “for some time.”

In 2020, a review from the Richmond, Indiana, Unsafe Building Commission found that the site lacked adequate fire suppression systems and that fire lanes around the building were blocked.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, two warehouses at the site contained a “large amount of chipped, shredded and bulk recycled plastic." Brown added that the 175,000-square-foot facility was “completely full.”

Smoke from Richmond, Indiana, fire seen from space

Richmond is on the Indiana-Ohio border roughly 70 miles from Indianapolis. Smoke from the fire could be seen on radar from National Weather Service in Indianapolis, as well as in satellite images.

Contributing: Sarah Bowman, USA TODAY Network; The Associated Press

John Tufts covers evening breaking and trending news for the Indianapolis Star. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Zach Piatt is a reporter for The Palladium-Item and contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Indiana residents evacuated due to fire from burning tractor-trailer