Health department urges Pueblo neighborhood near smoke to remain cautious
The Pueblo County Health Department asks people downwind of a scrap yard fire to remain cautious.
The fire has been burning since 3 a.m. Sunday. The fire burned a pile of shredded car interiors at American Iron Metal’s scarp yard.
Flames burned fabric and plastic and carried the heavy smoke into the Salt Creek neighborhood.
“It was just so thick you couldn’t see,” said neighbor Ambrose Solis Jr.
Solis said he was sick in just a few breaths.
“The wind was coming straight toward us, carrying all that smoke. It was hard to breath. Burning your eyes, headache, it just wasn’t a good thing,” said Solis.
Pueblo County Sheriff’s deputies told him to either leave the area or stay inside until the smoke cleared. His two grandsons are visiting and one has asthma.
“I thought the best thing to do was just load up and go. I came back 3 or 4 hours later and still couldn’t stay. It was still bad,” said Solis.
KRDO medical expert Dr. John Torres said neighbors should listen to the health department’s warning.
“The particulates inside that smoke, even if it’s old material, new material, it doesn’t matter, those particulates can get inside the lung and that can cause a lot of respiratory issues. That’s why they are saying especially if you have respiratory problems, you want to take care and you want to evacuate,” said Torres.
He also said there can be long-term risks to exposure to the smoke.
“The concern is a lot of those materials, especially once they burn, release carcinogens, cancer causing substances,” said Torres.
Solis’ neighbor Anthony Razo stayed inside.
“That smoke is going to make people sick,” said Razo.
“With the chemicals in it, who knows what’s in it? I was concerned about that,” said Solis.
Some are also concerned that water used in the firefight may have carried chemicals into area ponds. A Pueblo County Health department spokesperson said the agency hopes to work with the state department in the coming days to test several ponds near the fire for contaminants.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
