Houston firefighters continued to battle a massive fire at a recycling facility in the Harrisburg area Tuesday morning, after black smoke was visible for miles in the city Monday afternoon and evening.
In a 9:30 p.m. Monday update, from the Houston Fire Department, the agency said the Houston Health Department was actively monitoring the air quality in residential areas surrounding the fire and no air quality issues had been reported.
As of Tuesday morning, the fire was still listed as active on the Houston Fire Department’s incidents page.
No shelter-in-place order was needed Monday evening.
Houston firefighters had been on scene at Kellogg Street and Lawndale Street in Houston’s East End since around 3 p.m. Monday when the fire broke out.
“At the request of Mayor John Whitmire and in consultation with Fire Chief Muñoz, the Houston Health Department is actively monitoring the air quality in residential areas surrounding the debris fire from a recycling facility at 700 Kellogg St. and at air monitoring sites throughout the city,” Dr. Theresa Tran, director of the Houston Health Department, said in a statement. “Additionally, we have deployed our Mobile Ambient Air Monitoring Lab to the nearest residential area to the fire site and air quality investigators to East Downtown.”
On Monday evening, the reading for dangerous particles in the air remained below the National Ambient Air Quality Standard level of concern, and no serious air quality concerns had been reported.
“We are working closely with the Houston Fire Department, the Houston Office of Emergency Management, the Harris County Pollution Control Services Department, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to monitor the situation, share data, and promptly disseminate information to the public,” according to a Houston Health Department statement.
As of Monday evening, more than 200 firefighters had worked to contain the blaze. No injuries had been reported.
This is a developing story.