PUEBLO, Colo. — A second fire is burning at the EVRAZ steel mill in Pueblo.
As of 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, the air quality advisory has been lifted. According to the Pueblo Department of Public Health, EPA officials tested the air quality and results showed significant improvement.
According to a post from the Pueblo Firefighters IAFF Local #3 Facebook page, two firefighters are recovering from injuries that got while fighting this fire.
Around 4:57 p.m., Mayor Heather Graham sent out a statement saying that the firefighters had minor injuries, but that they were medically evaluated and treated. Those individuals have been released to return to work without restrictions.
In a statement Monday, EVRAZ said they understood many people have additional questions about the fire. They ask that you email any questions you have to communityconcerns@evrazna.com.
According to the City of Pueblo, as of 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, the EVRAZ fire is 100% contained.
As of 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, we recieved the following statement from EPA officials stating that no harmful chemicals were involved in this fire. The EPA also states that they are continuing to monitor the air quality in the surrounding areas "out of an abundance of caution".
On April 5, 2024 the Colorado Highway Patrol (CSP), Pueblo Fire Department and Pueblo Police Department arrived on site to contain the fire at the Rocky Mountain Steel Mill and requested EPA assistance. EPA Region 8 deployed a Federal On-Scene Coordinator and a support contractor to the incident. EPA staff arrived on Site on April 5, 2024 to provide support to the local first responders, conduct air monitoring, conduct additional assessments, and help stakeholder coordination. EPA OSC conductedair monitoring of the smoke plume in surrounding neighborhoods and work with the local fire department to prevent firefighting water runoff from reaching the storm water system.
First responders determined that there were no hazardous substances involved in the fire. Out of an abundance of caution, EPA will continue to conduct air monitoring in the surrounding area. EPA will provide the local health department with the monitoring data.
As of 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, the shelter-in-place for Summit Avenue and Opal Street out east to San Juan Street south to Canal Street and west to Stone Avenue have been lifted.
The fire is currently contained, but the percentage level has not yet been disclosed by the Pueblo Fire Department.
The air quality alert issued by the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment is still in place until Sunday, April 7.
According to the City of Pueblo twitter account, Pueblo is limiting all outdoor activities due to an air quality alert issued by Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment.
Both municipal golf courses have been closed including the Elmwood Golf Course and Walking Stick Golf Course. All games scheduled to take place at Langoni Field are canceled and no access to the field will be allowed.
Pueblo transit has currently limited services to the Salt Creek area, so the following stops are not currently in service:
- Northern/Abriendo
- Santa Fe/Mesa
- Santa Fe/Haven
- Roselawn/Paloma
- Roselawn/Aspen
- Aspen/Liberty
- Santa Fe/Aspen
- 831 Santa Fe Dr.
- 431 Santa Fe Dr.
- Santa Fe/Moffat
- Santa Fe/Locust
- Santa Fe/C St
- Santa Fe/Grand
- 1st/Main
According to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, Palo Alto Street is under a pre-evacuation notice. Firefighters at the scene say the pre-evacuations are due to spot fires caused by embers from the steel mill fire.
The City of Pueblo says there is a shelter in place including Summit Avenue and Opal Street out east to San Juan Street south to Canal Street and west to Stone Avenue because of air quality concerns.
The following road closures are in effect because of the fire:
- Santa Fe Avenue at Santa Fe Drive
- East Northern Avenue at Santa Fe Drive
- East Northern Avenue at Elm Street
- East Mesa Avenue at Elm Street
A spokesperson for EVRAZ North America sent News5 the following statement:
This afternoon a fire broke out on the grounds of the EVRAZ Pueblo steel mill. The fire is located in a building primarily used for staging and storage. All employees were immediately and safely evacuated, and all have been accounted for. Pueblo Fire Department remains on scene. We will provide additional details as they become available.
At this time it is unclear what is burning or how big the fire is. A large plume of black smoke can be seen across the city.
This is a developing story and will be updated as we learn more. We have a crew at the scene working to learn more.
____
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
