By Dave Hughes
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock)
BOONEVILLE, Ark. — About 200 residents were evacuated a second time from around a burnedout meat processing plant Monday after officials found a tank inside that still contained ammonia.
Residents within a half-mile radius south of Cargill Meat Solutions were told to leave their homes before noon Monday, about four hours after the last of the evacuees were allowed to return home, said Booneville Mayor Jerry Wilkins.
The area south of the plant was evacuated because wind was blowing smoke southward.
A Russellville company was called to remove the ammonia from the tank. The Booneville Police Department said residents were allowed to return about 7:30 p.m. Monday.
“They’re going to sleep in their own beds tonight,” Wilkins said.
The remains of the 150,000-square-foot plant that employed 800 people continued to smoke and smolder Monday.Company engineers were just beginning to assess the damage, but they were hindered by the fire, company spokesman Mark Klein said.
The loss of the Cargill plant, the town’s largest employer, will be devastating to the community of 4, 117 if the company decides not to rebuild, Wilkins said.
The community’s economy cannot absorb the loss of the plant, he said. He estimated that Cargill has a $40 million annual economic impact on the town.
U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., canceled a planned town meeting on Monday so that he could tour the plant and talk with Car- gill employees.
“I represent 150 towns in my district. I thought I’ve seen everything, but I’ve never seen a fire that has been so destructive,” Ross said.
A maintenance crew doing welding work in the plant caused a fire early Sunday afternoon that quickly got out of control. The presence of ammonia, which is flammable and causes breathing problems, prevented firefighters from dousing the blaze before it destroyed the plant.
The 22-member maintenance crew and four Cargill employees were the only ones in the plant when the fire started Sunday. No one was injured.
The fire started at the west end of the plant, Klein said, not in the freezer section of the plant. The freezer section survived the fire, he said, but he doubts beef products stored there could be salvaged because of the loss of power and refrigeration. The company processes beef patties, steaks and roast beef.
It is too early for company officials to judge whether the survival of the freezer section will be enough to justify rebuilding the plant, Klein said.
Ross said he spoke with Cargill’s president Monday and told him how important the plant is to Booneville’s economy and its people.
The Booneville Industrial Development Corp. decided Monday to give land to Cargill for a new plant, Wilkins said. One 35-acre plot is across from the plant on Arkansas 10, and another is in an industrial park east of the plant.
Wilkins hopes that government aid will be available to help the company and community recover.
“There’s not a lot of federal money but a lot of state aid, and we’re going to need some of that,” Wilkins said.
The money people make at Cargill and spend in Booneville also contributes to the city’s tax base, but money is not Wilkins’ primary concern. “We’re not worried about our money; we’re worried about people,” he said.
People who bought a new car or a house may have trouble making payments, he said, and the high price of gasoline could make it difficult for residents to drive to another town to work.
Hundreds of Cargill employees lined up Monday in the First Baptist Church family life center to apply for unemployment benefits.
Fifteen-year employee Monty McEntire of Booneville believes the company eventually will rebuild the plant. Meanwhile, he plans to find out-of-town employment using skills he acquired at Cargill since he doubts the area can absorb the plant’s 800 misplaced workers.
“The only place I know of to find work is Fort Smith,” McEntire said.
Karen Roberson of Booneville, who has worked at the plant for almost 28 years, said she is finding it hard to think about the future.
“I’m still in shock over what happened,” she said. “I’m trying to think about now.” Cargill officials plan to meet Thursday morning with employees to update them on possible plans in the fire’s aftermath, Klein said.