Large fire on Mitchell Island in Richmond
Posted January 20, 2017 12:00 pm.
Last Updated January 20, 2017 3:54 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) – Smoke could be seen around the entire region coming from a fire in the Mitchell Island area this afternoon.
A pile of cars went up in flames at an auto wrecking yard.
A thick plume of black smoke could be seen coming from Mitchell Island just before noon and it could be seen right down the Fraser River all the way at the Pattullo Bridge.
Amanda called us from the Vancouver side of the river just as the fire reached its strongest point. “There’s like 30, 40 foot high flames. It looks like it’s a junkyard. There’s all the gas tanks, you can hear the explosions of cars. There’s piles and piles of cars and you can see random explosions going on.”
Brian McLeod with the Richmond Fire Department says there isn’t an early indication of cause. “It has spread amongst the pile, so it’s a pretty big fire but it is contained within the yard. The yard has concrete walls surrounding it and we’re no worried about exposure.”
He expects crews to be at the scene for some time. The pile of cars needs to be dismantled so they can be totally sure the fire is out. No one has been hurt. Despite the large amount of thick black smoke produced, McLeod says it didn’t cause an air quality problem.
@NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/EbMMtvaGG5
— Suz Oskam (@365_suz) January 20, 2017
@NEWS1130 definitely not a car fire, the entire building is in flames pic.twitter.com/DMMn4v5QEk
— Buck (@OldDoeYoungBuck) January 20, 2017
People from as far as North Road in Burnaby say they could see the smoke, while others closer by say the air is filled with the stench of smoke.
