An entire Georgia community has been evacuated after a fire at a BioLab facility sent a massive plume of smoke into the air.
Conyers, population 17,000, was evacuated while residents of Rockdale County, which surrounds the town and has a population of about 100,000 people, were ordered to shelter in place, according to WXIA-TV.
“In the best interest and safety of the public and all citizens, it is recommended that businesses close operations until shelter-in-place is lifted,” county officials said in a news release posted to Facebook. Schools in the area are also being closed Monday.
????BREAKING????
Massive Chemical Fire
Large fire at BioLab in Conyers, Georgia has sent a huge plume of toxic smoke into the sky. I-20 being blocked off and residents told to leave. Reports suggest that Biolab industries had a fault in a sprinkler system and water hit some chemicals… pic.twitter.com/UsoIOxUPdM— John Cremeans USA (@JohnCremeansUSA) September 29, 2024
Air quality surveys “revealed the harmful irritant chlorine, which was detected in the air emitting from the incident location of BioLab.”
“For everyone sheltering in place, the best practice is to turn the air conditioning off and keep windows and doors shut,” the release added.
Officials said the plume was on an “unpredictable path and wind direction.” Interstate 20 was closed and later reopened.
TJ Lamar said she was jolted awake, according to WXIA-TV.
“We got woken up by the police knocking on the door at like 6 a.m.,” Lamar said. “They [were] like ‘Y’all have got to go.'”
BREAKING – Shelter-in-place order for all of Georgia’s Rockdale County has been extended indefinitely, authorities announced Monday morning after fire at BioLab
The presence of chlorine has been confirmed by federal EPA and state EPD testing, Rockdale County said. What, if any,… pic.twitter.com/dvzro0bPY1
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) September 30, 2024
She said she and her four children left the house with her wallet and the clothes on their back.
“My eyes were burning. You could smell the chlorine in the air,” Lamar said.
#WATCH | A fire at a chemical plant in #Georgia caused a large plume of dark smoke to billow above #Conyers and forced evacuations and road closures.
After it was initially contained, the blaze reignited at BioLab on Old Covington Highway in Conyers. pic.twitter.com/o0FEV2ywz3
— DD News (@DDNewslive) September 30, 2024
Michaela Edwards was in an area where residents were ordered to shelter in place and saw the spectacle of the plume.
“Oh my God, the sky is literally red. Something’s wrong. Of course, I freaked out inside. And I started closing all the vents and [trying] to make sure everything is cut off,” Edwards said.
“You know how on a cartoon movie when something explodes, it’s like multiple clouds just climbing out of each other? That’s the best way I can describe it,” Edwards said.
The plume of smoke is likely to remain for several days, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The fire was the third in seven years.
The fire began Sunday morning. It was believed to have been extinguished but flared back to life Sunday afternoon.
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