More help coming for Finley residents caught in Lineage smoke plume. Box fan giveaway set

Finley residents who are most at risk from smoke coming from the Kennewick Lineage cold storage warehouse will get more help on Sunday.

The warehouse has burned and smoldered, sending plumes of smoke into area homes and businesses, since April 21.

The Benton Franklin Health District is working with other agencies to give out box fans with filters to help clean indoor air at a drive thru event Sunday June 2.

The equipment is intended for Finley residents who live within about 0.6 mile of the burning warehouse and whose health is most at risk from the smoke because they have asthma, heart disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.

The health district also will have more N95 masks to give out, after holding an initial drive thru event to pass out masks Thursday evening.

The Sunday drive thru will be from 4 to 6 p.m. at the south parking lot of the River View High School at 36509 S. Lemon Drive, Kennewick. Participants should enter the parking lot from Game Farm Road.

Finley residents who are homebound and need masks or a fan with a filter may call 509-460-4205.

Agencies working with the health district to provide box fans and filters are Benton County Commissioner Will McKay, Benton County Fire District 1, Benton Clean Air Agency, the Washington state Department of Ecology and the Washington state Department of Health.

The air quality close to the Lineage warehouse has been rated as “hazardous” at times, and a newly installed air monitor at the Finley middle school has shown air quality that has been rated as “unhealthy” some mornings.

Wednesday evening local government agencies held a town hall meeting in Finley and heard from residents about the need for more help, particularly for elderly and low income residents, dealing with weeks of smoke from the fire.

Finley residents said they or neighbors were suffering from health problems linked to the smoke, including a child who wakes up in the night with nose bleeds and vomiting and a teen with pneumonia. Other residents said they had migraines, bronchitis and frequent doctor visits as the smoke has exacerbated their asthma or other respiratory issues.

One woman said her animals were avoiding drinking from water troughs sitting in the smoke.

Local officials said at the meeting that they would ask Lineage to cover the costs of the emergency response to help residents. Lineage did not send a representative to the meeting either in person or through an online video link.

The Benton Franklin Health District has set up a page of information and resources for people affected by smoke from the fire at bfhd.wa.gov.

Dr. Steve Krager, the Benton and Franklin health officer, says staying indoors is safest when smoke is present. If people must be outdoors, in the smoke they should wear an N95 mask to reduce their exposure to harmful particulate matter in the smoke, he said.

“This is crucial for protecting your respiratory health, especially for individuals with lung or heart conditions,” he said.

Lineage has hired a contractor to start tearing down some of the outer portion of the 12-acre building and haul away debris, including what remains of vegetables stored in the warehouse. That work is expected to allow firefighters to safely get closer to where the fire continues to burn or smolder in the center of the huge building.

With the building still burning, the cause of the fire has not been determined.