Fire department: Heat, wind intestified fire at North Las Vegas recycling center
On the second-hottest day of the year so far, firefighters spent the afternoon battling several fires, including an intense blaze that destroyed the main building at a North Las Vegas recycling center.
The fire was reported about noon at Las Vegas Recycling, 2220 N. Commerce St., near Carey Avenue. Additional resources were called to the scene about an hour later due to extreme temperatures and the size of the blaze.
According to the National Weather Service, it was 101 degrees in the north valley by noon Tuesday. By 3:30 p.m., the temperature had hit 107.
The heat and wind played a “significant role” in intensifying the fire, according to a statement from North Las Vegas Fire Capt. Cedric Williams.
More than 20 fire units from Las Vegas, Clark County and Nellis Air Force Base assisted with the effort, Williams said.
Dry heat and wind also set off a chain reaction in the central valley on Tuesday, when flames from a burning vehicle spread to three nearby homes.
Firefighters responded to a home in the 5400 block of Sawyer Avenue, near West Lake Mead Boulevard and North Michael Way, just before 3 p.m. The department said the home was “heavily involved with fire” that spread to neighboring houses.
A pickup truck caught fire on the side of the road, and flames spread to a tree and to the home, the department said. Burning embers then blew into the backyard of a house in the 5300 block of Sawyer, doing moderate damage to the back of the house. Embers also spread to a house in the 5300 block of Stacey Avenue, causing extensive damage.
About 75 firefighters using 28 pieces of equipment brought the flames under control in about an hour, the fire department said. The two-alarm fire destroyed the pickup truck and caused an estimated $500,000 in damage.
No injuries were reported in connection with the blaze and the fire was ruled accidental, the department wrote in a release.
Fire crews at the recycling center reported having the blaze about 90 percent contained by about 5:45 p.m. Heavy equipment was being used to gain access to some of the burning recyclables.
At 8 p.m., crews were still working to find and extinguish less obvious flames that might still be burning in the bundles of recyclables, Williams said.
No injuries were reported.
American Red Cross volunteers were at the scene of the fire Tuesday evening, providing food and water to fire crews who had been fighting the blaze for hours, the organization wrote in a release about 5:30 p.m.
Fire crews also responded to blazes on Dane Way in Indian Springs at 4 p.m. and South 11th Street in Las Vegas just before 6 p.m.
No damage estimates or information about the cause and origin of the recycling center fire were immediately available, Williams said Tuesday night.
This was the fourth fire at a recycling center in North Las Vegas since April of last year. All four blazes involved different facilities.
In April 2014, a fire broke out at SA Recycling at 5850 N. Nellis Blvd., near El Campo Grande Avenue. Several dozen firefighters from different agencies extinguished the blaze at the facility’s crushers in less than an hour.
In May 2014, North Las Vegas firefighters responded to a blaze at a Republic Services plant at 333 W. Gowan Road, near North Commerce Street. More than 100 firefighters responded to the fire, which was ruled an accidental mechanical fire.
And on May 7 of this year, a fire broke out at Lakewood Recycling, 1606 Stocker St., near Owens Avenue and Interstate 15. The blaze was extinguished after an hour and a half without any injuries.
Williams said there was no common denominator in the recycling plant fires and that they involved varying factors, including human error and equipment malfunctions. All North Las Vegas businesses undergo an annual fire safety inspection, he said.
Review-Journal photographers Erik Verduzco and Chase Stevens and reporter Cassandra Taloma contributed to this report. Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @lauxkimber. Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Find him on Twitter: @WesJuhl
