{"id":804537,"date":"2026-08-06T11:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T11:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/804537\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T11:16:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T11:16:12","slug":"areas-of-pearl-district-test-positive-for-asbestos-after-centennial-mills-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/804537\/","title":{"rendered":"Areas of Pearl District test positive for asbestos after Centennial Mills fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) \u2014 Areas of Portland\u2019s Pearl District in Northwest Portland have tested positive for asbestos three days after a massive fire ripped through the Centennial Mills warehouse<\/a>, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).<\/p>\n

Multiple neighbors in different apartment complexes and condominiums next to the destroyed warehouse told KATU on Wednesday afternoon they got a message from their property management Wednesday morning about debris and ash that dropped onto roofs and balconies.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Historic Centennial Mills warehouse fire prompts ongoing safety concerns<\/a><\/p>\n

One email shared with KATU warned residents, \u201cTesting of debris collected in the neighborhood has confirmed the presence of asbestos,\u201d and \u201cUntil additional guidance is received, please do not touch, move, sweep, vacuum, or otherwise disturb suspected debris.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got notified that there was asbestos in the building and that it was out there, and that [the property management is] looking into getting people that can process that stuff legally to do cleanup around our place now,\u201d said nearby resident Daniel Jacobs.<\/p>\n

The warning came after some residents said they already cleaned up the dust.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the penthouses on the roof, they said it looked like somebody threw a bucket of briquettes on their patio and some of them had their carpets burned,\u201d said Pearl District Neighborhood Association President and neighbor Bruce Studer. \u201cIt was a mess. It\u2019s a lot worse than what people think.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDEQ understands the concerns of neighbors in the community about asbestos and other potential environmental impacts from the fire,\u201d a spokesperson for DEQ told KATU on Wednesday evening. \u201cWe provided technical assistance to the local authorities leading the incident response by coordinating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its contractors on taking air and building debris samples for analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Portland Parks & Recreation also closed off The Fields Park across the street from the Centennial Mills building Wednesday morning, with a plan to stay closed \u201cuntil experts determine the area is safe from debris or other hazards.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday afternoon, specially trained K-9s did another sweep of the warehouse to search for remains as a precaution, with no findings, according to Portland Fire & Rescue. Fire crews have finished mapping the interior and exterior, but people are still advised to avoid the area.<\/p>\n

Residents in the Pearl District told KATU they feel there has been a lack of crucial communication.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just disappointing,\u201d Studor said. \u201cI know there\u2019s other things going on, but to us, this is the most important thing in the city, and it\u2019s got health concerns, it\u2019s got, you know, people are worried, I mean for their pets, for their animals, for their kids; it\u2019s a dangerous situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just need to know, you know, what\u2019s our next step,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really think that having somebody be able to tell us what\u2019s going on a little bit quicker would have been nice,\u201d said Jacobs. \u201cWe had to seek out and get information, and of course we\u2019re hearing rumors about the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were out there [during the fire] and we probably shouldn\u2019t have been breathing the air,\u201d Jacobs added. \u201cAnd to find, to kind of recall that there\u2019s asbestos in there; I don\u2019t know how much it hurts you.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday evening, the city of Portland published a page on the city’s website with the latest updates: Centennial Mills Fire<\/a>.<\/p>\n

City officials said online that while debris samples have tested positive for asbestos, air monitoring outside the immediate fire area shows a low health risk to the public.<\/p>\n

The cause of Sunday\u2019s fire is still under investigation.<\/p>\n

The city says it is working with the property owner and says if the building is still standing, they expect a controlled demolition to begin in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

The DEQ warns anyone who cleans up ash and debris from a fire to wear a mask and waterproof gloves, wet down or soak the debris with water, double bag the material with your gloves and mask in the second bag, dispose of the bags, and finally wash your hands, body, and clothes. Additionally, officials urge people to keep shoes by the door and wash your pet\u2019s feet when coming inside your home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) \u2014 Areas of Portland\u2019s Pearl District in Northwest Portland have tested positive for asbestos three…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":804538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-804537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/804538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}