Benton raises alarm over rotting food, flaming debris as Finley fire passes 45-day mark

“Massive progress” is being made to tear down the destroyed portion of the Lineage cold storage warehouse, said Scott LoParco, Benton Fire District 1 chief.

The 12-acre building in Finley has been burning since April 21.

LoParco estimated that Signal Restoration Services workers using 12 excavators, four water trucks and a bulldozer have torn down about a third of the metal racks that once filled most of the building to hold frozen potatoes, corn, peas and carrots.

That allows more access to the building where fire continues to flare up.

Federal officials called in to investigate the Lineage cold storage fire in Finley have finished an initial investigation, finding the fire is not suspicious enough to warrant a full-blown investigation, according to Benton Fire District 1.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has not released a report at this time, LoParco said.

Lineage’s insurance company has hired a team to continue to investigate, he said.

The area where the fire started is not yet safe for investigators to enter as the fire continues to smolder and flare up.

Lineage has not said publicly whether it plans to rebuild at the Finley site. Company officials did not respond to a Herald request for more information about the warehouse and they did not attend, in person or virtually, last week’s town hall for people living in the area.

Faster cleanup urged

Fire cleanup is now being done 12 hours a day, but Benton County commissioners sent a letter to Lineage this week asking it to consider expanding the cleanup around the clock.

“The Board of County Commissioners cannot stress enough the urgency of this situation, its negative impacts on the surrounding Finley community, and encourage you to operate clean-up activities on a 24-hour a day rotation for the health, safety and welfare of the community,” the letter said.

It assured Lineage that the current noise ordinance makes an exception to allow cleanup activity 24 hours a day.

“Feedback received from the community indicates that they would prefer the round the clock noise of the work rather than have the cleanup take longer,” the letter said.

Finley residents and some residents across the Columbia River in the Burbank area have been breathing the smoke from the fire for more than seven weeks, some of them frequently.

Air quality troubles

Some mornings an air quality monitor installed in Finley after the fire started has rated the air quality as “unhealthy” and the air close to the Lineage warehouse has been rated as “hazardous” at times.

As soon as Friday, June 7, the health district plans to put up more monitors on some homes and businesses. The results will be posted on an Environmental Protection Agency website.

After a town hall meeting in Finley last week to hear concerns, local agencies have stepped up help for people suffering due to the fire.

Residents at the town hall described health problems they 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.

About 1,000 masks, 96 air purifiers and 91 box fans and filters were handed out in recent drive-thru events in Finley, in a collaboration of the Benton Franklin Health District, 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.

Additional supplies will be distributed as they become available, possibly to some clients of Meals on Wheels in the Finley area and to homes with babies.

Officials have said they hope to recoup costs from Lineage.

The health district also has made home visits to deliver supplies and provide help to vulnerable, housebound residents. In one example, workers could smell smoke as soon as they stopped at the home of a woman with congestive heart failure and limited vision to deliver an air purifier.

Those most at risk from the smoke are those with lung or heart disease; diabetes; people who are pregnant or 65 or older; people who lack good access to health care and people who work outside, said Dr. Steven Krager, interim health officer for Benton and Franklin counties.

The health district also is posting information, including answers to frequently asked questions, about the fire and health issues at bfhd.wa.gov. That will include distribution of additional supplies when they become available.

Wind whips up fire

The strong winds earlier this week caused hot spots to flare up again into flames.

Benton County fire crews worked with Signal Restoration Services to put out the fire.

Because a significant amount of steel and vegetables had been removed, the fire district truck and crews were able to get up safely on the building pad and reach farther into the interior with water, the district said,

Vegetables, which are in 30 foot heaps of debris in the building, are being taken to a commercial landfill in Oregon and scrap metal is being taken to a recycler in Burbank.

At this point rodents and birds scavenging the ruined fruit do not appear to be a problem, LoParco said.

This story was originally published June 6, 2024 at 3:41 PM.