EVRAZ investigating Pueblo steel fire, county officials say no health risks
PUEBLO, Co. (KRDO) - EVRAZ North America says that it is investigating the fire that engulfed a large portion of its Pueblo Steel Mill property on Friday, and forced families nearby to shelter in place over air quality concerns.
The steel manufacturer said in a statement that the fire broke out in a "mostly empty building" that is used for the "staging and storing of non-hazardous materials", and that the fire stayed confined to that building and some of the surrounding area.
Drone footage shared with KRDO13 shows the sheer size of the blaze.
EVRAZ says the fire is now under investigation, but would not answer multiple emails sent by KRDO13 since Saturday, asking about about how the blaze started. It came on a day when Pueblo County issued a Red Flag Warning due to high fire risk.
Pueblo County health officials say that during the fire, and afterward the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ran tests on the air quality in the area, and deemed there to be no risks to public health.
"Those air monitoring and those samples didn't really show any anything of concern other than some particulate matter which you're going to get with any fire," explained Chad Wolgram, the Director of Environmental Health in Pueblo County. "And then also with the winds at such high velocity, it's hard to kind of pick up some of those other chemicals, those other things of concern," added Wolgram.
Wolgram says that EVRAZ now assumes control of the cleanup of the property, and will work with the Colorado State Department of Health.
"As with any fire and other structures, if they have to be demolished, there is a concern about asbestos. They are going to have to follow all the proper procedures and follow the regulations for demoing those buildings and cleaning up that debris," said Wolgram.
The steel manufacturer added in its statement:
"EVRAZ said it continues to closely collaborate with health officials as reviews continue and will
EVRAZ
work with those agencies to publicly release any additional findings as they become available."
The investigation into the cause of the fire remains ongoing.
