On Tuesday morning, at around 8:30am, a fire broke out at the location of the Beyond Waste Salvage Yard/Gabriel Machinery, on the 2600 Block of Lake Earl Drive at the north end of Crescent City.
The fire was started just outside of the building on its southeast side, according to a conversation with Battalion Chief of Crescent City Fire & Rescue Darrin Short.
“Fire crews got there fast, hit it with large volumes of water, and stopped it from progressing,” said Short. It was particularly challenging to perform overhaul, since the small spot fires were hard to access when the flames reached the wooden rafters and tar paper under the roofing, according to Short.
Between 15 and 20 firefighters from Cal Fire, Smith River, Fort Dick, Gasquet, and Pelican Bay Prison’s firehouse were on the scene to assist.
During the fire, Pacific Power shut off power to the facility and traffic was closed between Blackwell Lane and Washington Boulevard for several hours. Thanks to the mutual aid from the local fire crews, the fire was fully put out by 4:30pm.
While the cause of the fire has not yet been officially determined, an arson investigator was on location.
“We can’t be 100% sure about what started it,” said Short. “It might have been arson but we can’t say that for sure.”
Redwood Voice will continue to follow up on this story as more details become available.
