Williamsburg Premium Outlets underground fire finally extinguished
Nov 28, 2024
JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) -- The fire that firefighters have been working on for almost a week has been successfully extinguished. The underground fire was at the Stormwater Detention Facility in the back parking lot at Williamsburg Premium Outlets.
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According to officials, crews extinguished the fire at approximately 10 p.m. after it burned for more than 100 hours.
Video above is Chopper 10 footage of crews working on the fire on Nov. 27.
Smoky conditions have dissipated, officials said.
Crews with the James City County Fire Department were dispatched to the Premium Outlets at approximately 9 a.m. on Nov. 23. When units arrived, they found the parking lot behind the stores partially collapsed and an active fire in the underground stormwater detention facility.
Multiple agencies including the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Office of Pollution Response and the Environmental Protection Agency were on scene to monitor air and water quality.
For several days, fire crews worked day and night to get control of the fire.
"They were fighting the fire and trying to, you know, resolve the situation across the street," said Ed Sanchez, a neighbor.
Crews with the James City County Fire Department and the city of Newport News Fire Department worked together with a contractor, hired by the property owner, to extinguish the fire.
"Yesterday was very bad, the air was very bad. [I was] not outside because I was a little bit afraid it's not really healthy," said Daniela Simon, who lives in the neighborhood behind the outlets.
Neighbors said with the plastic burning smell gone, they are able to enjoy going outside. Officials believe plastic crates that make up the underground stormwater system are what had caught fire.
Fire crews have since cleared the scene.