Here’s an update on the fire in Parkersburg, WV. The site of the old Ames Plant is still burning. It started just after midnight Saturday night. The cause of the blaze is still unknown. The old plant housed an operation that ground up plastic that was stored in huge cardboard containers as raw materials to be shipped to DuPont for making whatever product they are currently working on. The Mid-Ohio Valley is home to many chemical plants and Parkersburg formed the Polymer Alliance in the late 1980’s to draw more business to the area. In just one day, over 1,000,000 gallons of city water had been pumped onto the blaze and the last two days saw tankers filling up with river water to give the city water a break. So far, costs of battling this devastating fire has been nearly $200,000 with an estimated cost of $60,000 daily. They are hoping to extinguish the fire by the end of the week.

While the actual ash fallout has been declared non-hazardous, the air quality hasn’t been cleared and people are being urged to stay indoors. Schools, businesses, and government offices were closed yesterday. A storm front came in early yesterday and rain began to fall. I was so happy to see that because I am familiar with forest fires out west. When it rains out there, the particulates get washed out of the air, the fires die down, and soon it’s just a cleanup operation. Not so in this case. I was in town for coffee with friends yesterday morning. I got there before it started raining and, while you could detect an odor of burning plastic, it really wasn’t that bad. The smoke was dying down and no longer billowing black. I covered my face and dashed the short distance to the hotel. It wasn’t long till the sky opened up. The rain and the low pressure of the storm front push the smoke flat down and the wind dispersed it in a line drive toward downtown. The air was heavy with it. It rained hard the entire time we were in the building and when we left, the wind had shifted again and sent the smoke across the river into Ohio.

The governor has declared a state of emergency for Wood County. We are still awaiting news as to air quality, water runoff contamination, and what exactly was in the smoke. The firefighters actually had to back off for a while yesterday afternoon because the smoke was too low and thick to work. Miraculously, there have been no injuries reported due to the fire. There has been a slow uptick in ER visits for complaints of coughing, breathing difficulties, and dizziness. That’s all I know at this point. I’ll let you know as more news becomes available.

As is typical of every disaster, Facebook is rife with stories, complaints, arguments between citizens. They’re frightened of what may be in the air and water…and rightfully so. After all, they were told for years that the C8 released by DuPont that has contaminated the aquifers beneath the Mid-Ohio Valley was harmless. There have been numerous trials in the class action suit brought by countless cancer sufferers…all related to C8 exposure. This is the stuff of legend…like, Erin Brokovich kind of stuff. The citizens don’t trust when they’re told the ash is non-toxic. It’s hard to wait for more news about the air and water. In the meantime, I’m staying away from downtown for the time being. One quick trip was all it took to convince me to stay out of there.

In the meantime, businesses and citizens are stepping up to the plate and delivering food and water to the firefighters. I just read of a business owner providing particulate respirator masks to the public for free. People are good. As Mr. Rogers’ mom told him…”Look for the helpers.” ❤️

“”Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, and in his disaster cry for help?”
‭‭Job‬ ‭30:24‬ ‭ESV‬‬