Recycling Center Fire Starts Days Before Owner's Date in Court
By: Kristen Kennedy
Updated: August 11, 2009
The fire at a North Lubbock recycling center continues to burn almost 24 hours after it first started. A large pile of shingles at the I-27 Recycling Center caught fire last night around six.
Firefighters from seven different stations around the area helped contain it. They used bulldozers to construct a barrier, and say the flames were so hot they couldn't get their trucks close because the heat would melt the tires. This fire started just a few days before the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality was due to go to court to shut down the recycling center.
"My heart just sank. It's been a lot of material out there and this has been one of my worst fears. When I heard last night or yesterday evening that it was on fire that was really my worst nightmare come true," says Randy Ammons with TCEQ.
The TCEQ will go to court Thursday to request the permanent injuction be put in place. Back in 2002, the I-27 Recycling Center caught fire and burned for several weeks.
