Massive Blaze Rips Through Dayton Scrap Yard, Triggers Overnight Shelter Order

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): A towering night fire yesterday ripped through a metals recycling plant in the Gulf Inland Logistics Park in Dayton, Texas, sending thick black smoke over nearby neighborhoods and prompting officials to order an overnight shelter-in-place. Fire crews from several agencies battled the flames while authorities urged residents to stay inside and shut off heating and air systems. No injuries were reported early in the response as investigators worked to secure the site.

Liberty County emergency management officials said the fire broke out at a recycling operation that handles end-of-life vehicles off Rolke Road inside the Gulf Inland park. A shelter-in-place was issued for residents north of U.S. 90 and east of State Highway 99, within roughly a five-mile radius, Emergency Management Coordinator Antwyne “A.J.” Johnson told The Vindicator. People in the impacted area were asked to close windows and doors and avoid running air conditioners or heaters.

What officials say about the response

Video from the scene showed towering flames and thick plumes of smoke climbing into the night sky, and FOX 26 Houston reported that Liberty County Fire Marshal Nathan Green said multiple departments were on scene and that air monitoring would be part of the response. The cause of the fire remained under investigation, officials told reporters.

Site background

The yard sits inside Gulf Inland Logistics Park, where OmniSource, a metals recycling subsidiary of Steel Dynamics, bought a 55-acre tract in 2023 to build a processing operation, according to the park’s announcement. The site plan called for heavy-haul roadway and rail access to handle large volumes of end-of-life vehicles and scrap metal, which helps explain the sizeable outdoor piles of combustible material crews were confronted with.

Why recycling-yard fires can be dangerous

Fires at recycling yards can produce heavy, toxic smoke and are often sparked by damaged lithium-ion batteries or pressurized cylinders, hazards that make fire suppression and nearby air monitoring especially critical, federal guidance and industry studies note. The EPA urges people to keep lithium batteries out of curbside recycling and warns that damaged batteries can ignite in processing equipment, creating a substantial fire risk for material recovery facilities and salvage yards.

What comes next

Emergency crews continued working the scene late last night as investigators searched for the cause and officials coordinated air-quality checks, according to local outlets. The Liberty County Office of Emergency Management urged residents to keep following official updates and to remain under shelter-in-place orders until authorities say it is safe to leave, local reporting noted.

Courtesy: www.manilatimes.net