Pile of creosote railroad ties expected to continue burning downtown through Monday evening
Oct. 16—A fire that sent a column of black smoke over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Yard starting Sunday afternoon was not expected to be extinguished until Monday evening, the Bakersfield Fire Department reported.
No harmful levels of smoke have been detected in the area around California Avenue and Elm Street as of late Monday morning, BFD Public Information Officer Tim Ortiz said. He added that arson investigators have not determined what caused a file of creosote railroad ties to ignite at the rail yard.
"Unfortunately, there were no witnesses," he said.
BNSF was planning to bring in heavy equipment such as excavators to separate materials on fire, after which time it should be easier to extinguish the fire, Ortiz noted.
On Sunday, BFD said a weather pattern allowed smoke from the fire to rise vertically such that there was no impact to local residents and no evacuations or shelter-in-place orders were issued.
