Tire fire spreads smoke across valley
Karen Peterson
Nicole Tavenner
Black smoke from the Tire Depot fire spreads across the valley.
Linda Sappington
Loads of clay mixture help smother the burning rubber by Friday afternoon.
Linda Sappington
Loads of clay mixture help smother the burning rubber by Friday afternoon.
Linda Sappington
Loads of clay mixture help smother the burning rubber by Friday afternoon.
Linda Sappington
Corey Kamarainen photo
Corey Kamarainen photo
Corey Kamarainen photo
Linda Sappington
Firefighters put water on a fire burning in a pit of used and shredded tires at Tire Depot along U.S. Highway 93 in Pablo.
Nicole Tavenner
Black smoke from the Tire Depot in Pablo fire spreads across the valley.
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Nicole Tavenner
Black smoke from the Tire Depot fire spreads across the valley.
Linda Sappington
Nicole Tavenner
Black smoke from the Tire Depot fire spreads across the valley.
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PABLO — Using a clay material, bulldozers are attempting to cover a fire burning in a deep pit full of used and shredded rubber tires as black smoke continues to spread throughout the Mission and Flathead Valleys.
The fire at Tire Depot along U.S. Highway 93 in Pablo was called in at 5:34 a.m. Friday, April 8, according to Lake County Undersheriff Ben Woods.
“One deputy who checked on it said the flames were 100 feet high,” Woods said.
The fully engulfed pit, about 200 feet deep, is estimated to be 100-150 yards wide, and holds thousands of used shredded and split tires.
All local fire departments responded to the scene, and Treasure State Concrete is hauling in clay material to bury the fire.
The Environmental Protection Agency is sending a coordinator from Denver, according to Steve Stanley, Lake County Disaster and Emergency Services coordinator.
The business had another fire that erupted in September 2001.
That fire took 24 hours to extinguish, according Stanley. “This one will be more of a challenge,” he said.
For now the highway will remain open, unless the smoke drops and visibility becomes a problem, Woods said, noting that when the 2001 fire was active, the highway was only a two-laner.
“With any luck the safety of the larger road will preclude the necessity to shut it down,” Woods said.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Firefighters with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ Division of Fire are conducting a 1,000-acre prescribed burn in the Garden Creek area northwest of Hot Springs Friday, and were not available for comment on the Tire Depot fire, which is located on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
