Пожар на перерабатывающем заводе шин в округе Мерсед заставил жителей надевать маски из-за дыма

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A fire at a tire recycling facility near Ballico continued to burn this week, prompting health and air quality alerts as smoke drifted into surrounding agricultural areas. Marc Bertsch, co-owner of American Tire Recycling, said the fire broke out Monday afternoon at the facility, which accepts old tires and grinds them into material for resale. "I feel terrible, yeah. It's just like having a forest fire nearby. It's terrible," Bertsch said. The company produces ground tire material for sale. "We sell these ground-up tires. It's about the size of coffee grounds," Bertsch said. According to Bertsch, the facility processes about 10% of all tires recycled in California. He said the fire is not consuming scrap tires but nearly the facility's entire finished inventory, which had been bundled and prepared for sale. "There's an odor to it. It's not cancerous, hazardous to it. If it was a hazardous product, then you'd have to have hazmat placards on tire shops, people hauling tires, all that stuff," Bertsch said. While the finished material is not classified as hazardous, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says tire fires can release pollutants, including benzene, dioxins and heavy metals. Smoke from the fire has drifted onto nearby farms, raising concerns among growers and workers. "We're gonna be working out here, and we're worried about it just being a hazard to our health for all of our employees," said Sebastian Cipponeri of Cipponeri Orchards. Cipponeri said he is about 10 days away from harvest and is evaluating what protective equipment workers may need if the fire remains active. "I know a lot of the people in the Ballico community are worried about what this smoke is going to do long term," Cipponeri said. CAL FIRE said responsibility for extinguishing the blaze shifts to the facility operator once the fire is contained. "Now that it's contained and it's not getting bigger, it's their responsibility to get personnel in there and get it extinguished as part of their emergency plan," Battalion Chief John Slate said. Crews have reduced their response to a single county water tender and engine, down from six engines earlier in the week. Containment was estimated at between 5% and 10%. "We want to get this thing extinguished so we can get rid of that hazardous smoke," Slate said. Health officials remain focused on the smoke as the fire continues to burn. The county health department and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District have issued alerts for the area and are urging nearby residents to stay indoors and wear an N95 mask if they need to go outside. The fire is expected to continue burning for days.