Workers remain at the site of a chemical plant in Waxahachie around the clock, still cleaning up after a massive fire four weeks ago.
The city just released stunning pictures taken by first responders and others that show the magnitude of the blaze at the Magnablend facility after they arrived.
"The first thing I noticed when I arrived was that I didn't have any black smoke coming out of the plant," Waxahachie fire Chief David Hudgins said. "It looked like steam -- not exactly like steam, it looked like clouds coming out of the building."
Since then, workers have already removed 1,000 tons of solid waste from the site and more than a million gallons of water, much of it used to fight the fire, the company said.
But drainage ditches soaked with rainwater that fell after the fire remain the biggest problem for cleanup crews.
"When you have to pick up wet dirt, well, you know, it turns into mud, so it's very hard to pick up and clean those ditches when they're wet," Hudgins said..
The smell from the site also remains a problem.
But in a statement, Magnablend CEO Scott Pendery said the company believes the odors will completely dissipate.
"We regret the inconvenience and annoyance this odor has caused, but we are confident that there are no associated health hazards," he said.
Air monitoring by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency detected no health hazard.
The company said the fire started when the production of a wastewater treatment product caused excessive steam and there was a spark near by.
Newly released documents show the plant passed all the local fire inspections in the last year prior to the Oct. 3 fire.
Previous Coverage:
- Wastewater Treatment Product Sparked Chemical Plant Fire
- Water Runoff Biggest Problem After Chemical Fire
- Massive Industrial Fire Allowed to Burn Out
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