A fire was reported at C&D Tire in Oak Ridge on Friday.
The fire was reported just before 6:30 p.m. Friday, City of Oak Ridge spokesperson Lauren Gray said.
“Crews have the fire under control,” Gray said at about 7:19 p.m. “Black smoke is visible in the area. ORFD (Oak Ridge Fire Department) is still on scene.”
No injuries have been reported.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Workers have finished major pre-demolition work on a wartime building at Y-12 National Security Complex.
The deactivation work at the Beta-1 building included removing asbestos; old, brittle thorium-contaminated piping; and more than two million gallons of water.
The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and its contractor UCOR have been working toward the deactivation milestone since 2020, a press release said. Workers finished deactivating the above-ground floors of the Beta-1 facility in December. Now, only deactivation work in the basement remains before the teardown can begin. Demolition of Beta-1 is expected to begin in 2026.
Beta-1 was built in 1944 to enrich uranium for the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. That federal project built the world’s first atomic bombs. Beta-1, a 210,000-square-foot, two-story building, was later converted to laboratory space for fusion-energy technology.
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Oak Ridge Schools will be closed again on Monday due to unsafe road conditions, and City of Oak Ridge offices will open three hours late.
The schools were closed four days after the holiday last week due to the winter weather, as were many other schools, offices, and businesses. Some roads were also briefly closed. The winter weather has included more than eight inches of snow, freezing temperatures, below-zero wind chills, and slippery roads and sidewalks.
On Sunday, the Oak Ridge Police Department and City of Oak Ridge said many roadways were still very icy despite being treated and plowed.
“Conditions are expected to worsen once the sun goes down,” they said. “Stay home, if possible.”
The schools said temperatures are projected to warm on Monday.
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Cold temperatures and wind chills below zero are expected Friday night into Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.
The NWS issued a wind chill advisory starting 11 p.m. Friday and continuing through noon Saturday.
Temperatures were forecast to continue to fall quickly with most places in the single digits by Saturday morning.
“Below 0 wind chills are also expected late tonight (Friday night) through Saturday with most places barely reaching 20 degrees on Saturday,” the NWS said. “Temperatures Saturday night will fall to near or even below 0 in most places. A warming trend will follow into next week.”
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Freezing rain Thursday night affected roads in the region, and crashes, road closures, and icy roads were reported.
The Oak Ridge Police Department said the rain had turned most roads to ice.
“We advise that you do not travel as conditions may worsen throughout the night,” the ORPD said about 10 p.m. Thursday.
Friday morning, the department said police officers had responded to several weather-related crashes.
“The roads have had minor improvements,” the ORPD said. “However, there are still a large amount of troubled areas.”
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The Tennessee Valley Authority said heavy snow and bitter cold temperatures are creating record-high demand for electricity across the Southeast.
“As a result, the Tennessee Valley Authority is asking customers to be aware of their power consumption, specifically between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. (Central Time) on Wednesday,” a press release said.
“TVA is actively monitoring weather conditions, and our power system remains stable,” the press release said. “Conservation requests are often used in the power industry to help lower demand during a specific time and does not indicate TVA is experiencing emergency conditions. If you are experiencing an outage, please check with your local electric provider for more information.”
[Read more…]City of Oak Ridge offices and facilities, Y-12 National Security Complex, and the Anderson County Courthouse will be closed Wednesday due to winter weather.
Only essential personnel are to report in the City of Oak Ridge. The Oak Ridge City Council work session scheduled for Tuesday night was canceled.
In Anderson County, crews have been working around the clock, but side roads are still in bad condition as are parking areas.
“The temperatures are expected to be very low tonight, and the main roads that are currently passable will most likely be ice in the early morning hours,” a press release said.
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Wind chills below zero are expected through Tuesday night through noon Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.
A wind chill advisory went into effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday and will continue until lunchtime Wednesday.
The low Tuesday night is forecast at 1 degree Fahrenheit, with a wind around 5 miles per hour and wind chill values between -2 and -7.
The high on Wednesday is supposed to be near 28 with wind chill values between -8 and 2.
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Oak Ridge Schools will be closed again on Wednesday due to the winter weather.
The school system had been closed Tuesday as well due to the weather.
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Oak Ridge crews are working to clear roads and repair water line breaks.
The Oak Ridge Public Works Department worked through the night to clear main roads, according to the city government. Melton Lake Drive and South Illinois Avenue are back open.
The department will begin to plow side streets once main roads are good for driving, the city said.
“While every city street was brined or treated before the storm, it was no match for this amount of snow combined with continued low temperatures,” the city said.
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Y-12 National Security Complex is closed Tuesday to everyone but essential personnel.
The Uranium Processing Facility project is also closed, Y-12 said.
“Teleworkers should continue to work remotely,” the plant said. “The Information Line will be updated with current information.”
Roads, schools, government offices, and businesses have closed due to the winter weather that started Sunday night, including snow, cold temperatures, and hazardous driving conditions.
