A fire burning at a plant catering to food processing in Salinas, California has resulted in evacuations and school closures.
At 7.15pm on Wednesday, the fire began at the 225,000 square-foot Taylor Farms Processing Facility. It forced the authorities to evacuate nearby areas and schools. Four schools have been closed.
Local officials reported the closure of Lincoln Elementary, Sherwood Elementary, Monterey Park Elementary and Los Padres Elementary on Thursday morning.
The closure of schools is following a shelter-in-place order issued by the officials affecting around 35,000 people.
City officials announced that the order to evacuate has been issued because an explosion is possible. Around 100 firefighters from 22 units in Monterey County have been asked to report to the area effected.
“The fire progressed to the point that it poses a significant risk for a potential explosion of ammonia that is located in the plant”, says Deputy Fire Chief and Incident Commander Sam Klemek.
