NITRO, W.Va. — Weary firefighters on Friday extinguished a day-old fire that consumed thousands of scrap tires illegally stored in a warehouse.
As many as 50,000 scrap tires were inside the 100,000-square-foot warehouse when the fire erupted Thursday morning.
Nearly a third of Nitro’s residents were advised to shut their doors and windows to keep out polluted air.
No one was injured in the fire. Its cause remained undetermined.
U.S. Tire Recovery, which owns the tires, did not have a solid waste permit to store them, said a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. A lawyer representing the company declined to comment.
Interstate 64 exit ramps leading to the city of 6,824 residents reopened Friday afternoon after being shut down overnight. Businesses reopened, but two schools were closed for the day.
Black smoke was visible on Thursday 12 miles away in Charleston.
  Firefighters continue to work on a tire warehouse fire |