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Smoke from wildfires in West, Canada causes haze in Oak Ridge

Posted at 12:44 pm July 22, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Haze obscures the mountains north of Oak Ridge in this view from Pine Ridge on Wednesday evening, July 21, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Smoke from enormous wildfires in the western United States and Canada is causing haze in Oak Ridge and across the eastern United States, and affecting air quality in many regions.

This map shows the locations of fires in the northwest United States and Canada, the smoke plume spreading across North America, and air quality indices. (Map by AirNow.gov via National Weather Service in Morristown)

On Thursday, CBS News reported that there are wildfires burning in 13 states, and 83 large fires have burned close to 1.3 million acres. The largest fire, the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, was burning more than 476 square miles, an area about the size of Los Angeles and three times the size of Detroit.

Smoke from the wildfires is blowing into Canada and then south around the Great Lakes and east to the East Coast, according to a map posted by AirNow.gov and shared by the National Weather Service in Morristown.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Slider, Top Stories, Weather, Weather Tagged With: air quality, AirNow.gov, Bootleg Fire, Haze, National Weather Service, Oak Ridge, smoke, wildfires

Late-night fire forces temporary evacuation of apartment building

Posted at 10:39 pm May 12, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Tara Hills Apartment Fire Evacuation

Oak Ridge Fire Department Capt. Kerry Osborne carries a child from a building that had to be evacuated at the Tara Hills apartment complex on Sunday night. The boy was still in the building with his mother and brother when the fire department arrived. (Photos courtesy ORFD)

 

A fire in a downstairs apartment at the Tara Hills apartment complex on Elmhurst Drive late Sunday night forced the temporary evacuation of roughly 24 apartments, authorities said.

The fire was reported to the Oak Ridge Dispatch office just before midnight, and multiple units from the Oak Ridge Fire Department were dispatched, a press release said. Fire department units arrived to find heavy smoke coming from one of the apartment buildings with several people still inside the building, the release said.

“The fire was on the first floor of the building, but hallways on the second and third floors quickly filled with smoke,” ORFD Deputy Chief Josh Waldo said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fire, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: American Red Cross, apartment building, evacuation, fire, Josh Waldo, Oak Ridge Fire Department, ORFD, smoke, Tara Hills

Sunday alarm at waste processing center triggered by smoke from heater

Posted at 9:13 am June 27, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Transuranic Waste Processing Center

A Sunday night alarm at the TRU Waste Processing Center in west Oak Ridge was triggered by smoke from a heater when the power went out during a thunderstorm and a ventilation system shut off. (Photo courtesy DOE Oak Ridge Office)

It was initially believed to be triggered by a small fire, but federal officials now say the Sunday night alarm at a waste processing center in west Oak Ridge was set off by smoke.

A ventilation system shut off when the power went out during a thunderstorm between 5 and 6 p.m. Sunday, and that caused a heater at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center to overheat, said Laura Wilkerson, federal project director in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: alarm, Building 7880, DOE, fire, heater, Highway 95, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Fire Department, Oak Ridge Office, ORNL, Room 327, smoke, transuranic waste, Transuranic Waste Processing Center, TRU Waste Processing Center, U.S. Department of Energy, ventilation system, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, waste processing center, Wastren Advantage Inc.

Few months after fire, Magic Wok passes city inspections, needs one from county

Posted at 4:35 pm February 7, 2013
By John Huotari 5 Comments

Oak Ridge Fire Department at Magic Wok

Damaged by smoke in November, the Magic Wok restaurant, which has been closed for several months, has passed all city inspections but still needs one from the county.

Several months after it was damaged by smoke, the Magic Wok restaurant has passed all city inspections, and the diner now needs an inspection from the Anderson County Health Department, Oak Ridge Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said Thursday.

The landmark Oak Ridge diner on Tyler Road passed a fire inspection Thursday morning, Waldo said.

The Magic Wok has been closed since  it was damaged by smoke in November after food was left cooking on a stove unattended. Firefighters didn’t see any flames that night, but they found smoke and high temperatures.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Health Department, diner, fire, inspections, Josh Waldo, Magic Wok, restaurant, smoke, Tyler Road

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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