(Pacific) The Columbia County Recycling Center again caught fire Wednesday after flames caused heavy damage to the facility last week. The county’s dispatch center received reports of the blaze at W7465 Highway 16 in the town of Pacific around 2pm.
Upon arrival, the Portage Fire Department found four large commercial steel structures fully engulfed by flames. The buildings were filled with garbage and large bundles of recyclable materials. Crews attacked the blaze from all sides, bringing the fire to 90-percent under control before firefighters were released to get some rest at 4am Thursday morning.
One crew stayed on scene to monitor hot spots until operations could begin again Thursday. There is heavy fire damage and machinery with two structures are considered a total loss. Firefighters worked with an excavation company operating heavy equipment to extinguish and overhaul the fire.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation. The facility already suffered heavy smoke and fire damage on May 14th. There was no determination on what caused that blaze.
