UPDATE: Ethanol Fire Near Minneola Contained

 

The Latest:

(KSNW) – Multiple crews battled a large fire at the EGE Biofuel plant northwest of Minneola Tuesday. 

Officials in the area asked people to stay away from the fire since it is emitting toxic smoke.

The Clark County Sheriff’s office advised residents four miles to the west and four to north of EGE to evacuate due to the smoke and possible chemicals in the smoke that could be falling in that area.

Residents of southwest Ford County west of Highway 283 and south of Windy Road were asked to evacuate to the east.

No injuries have been reported in the fire. Crews are waiting for the blaze to burn out.

EGE issued the following statement:

There was a fire at our biodiesel plant. The fire was contained quickly and we would like to extend our sincere appreciation to our local and regional first responders. No employees nor any first responders were harmed as a result of the fire. There have been some reports of evacuations, and these were only made as a precautionary measure due to the unpredictable nature of the weather. Appropriate authorities have been notified. Again we would like to express our gratitude to the quick actions of our first responders, our employees, and that no one was harmed.

(AP) Fire officials have asked residents near a biofuels plant in western Kansas to evacuate their homes as they fight a fire at the plant.

Ford County Fire Lt. James Warnke said the fire at the EGE plant, which primarily makes ethanol, was contained after about four hours Tuesday. He said crews were waiting for the blaze to burn out at the plant about a mile west of Minneola.

No injuries were reported.

The Clark County Sheriff’s office said on Facebook that residents up to 4 miles north and 4 miles west of the plant were asked to evacuate because of concerns about the smoke and possible chemicals in the smoke.

Warnke said there are fewer than 10 homes in the 4-mile evacuation radius.

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
CIVIL EMERGENCY MESSAGE
KANSAS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY DODGE CITY KANSAS
RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
123 PM CDT TUE JUN 12 2018

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE FORD
COUNTY KANSAS SHERIFF`S OFFICE. AN ACTIVE ETHANOL FIRE 1 1/2 MILES
WEST OF MINNEOLA IS EMITTING TOXIC SMOKE. RESIDENTS OF SOUTHWEST
FORD COUNTY WEST OF HIGHWAY 283 AND SOUTH OF WINDY ROAD SHOULD
EVACUATE TO THE EAST.

The Clark County Sheriff has this to say:
We have advised residents four miles to the west and four miles 
north of EGE to evacuate at this time due to the smoke and possible 
chemicals in the smoke that could be falling in that area.  This is 
a safety precaution.  Please be mindful of the wind if it changes direction.