Some Doral residents urged to stay indoors as work to extinguish trash fire continues
MIAMI -- As Miami-Dade County firefighters continued to battle a fire at a Doral renewable energy plant for the fifth straight day, officials urged residents in some parts of the city limits to remain indoors Friday because the air could become more smoky while crews work to get better access to extinguish the blaze.
The effort to put out the fire will include demolition work at the Covanta Energy plant, located at 6990 NW 97th Ave., in order to give firefighters better access to the "center of the fire," officials said in a written statement.
Officials advised "out of an abundance of caution" that Doral residents who live between NW 74 Street and NW 92 Street and NW 92 Avenue to NW 112 Avenue remain inside with the windows closed.
Officials also said in the statement that Doral Glades Park and Doral Legacy Park would close Friday and all scheduled outdoor programming in Doral would be rescheduled.
In a written statement, Miami-Dade County Public Schools said it is monitoring the situation.
"In an abundance of caution and because of the latest assessment made by the Environmental Protection Agency, parents at Andrea Castillo Preparatory Academy and Ronald W. Reagan/Doral Senior High School were encouraged to pick up their children from school," the statement said. "M-DCPS will continue to monitor conditions, and if there are any changes to next week's school schedule, parents will be notified via the appropriate channels of communication."
Between timed grocery store runs, families with homes nearby worried.
"When's it going to stop?" Ruben Batista, who lives in the area of concern, said.
"I'm going to stay inside my house," Andres Eslarer, who also lives nearby, said.
"I'm not going to stay out."
"I'm very concerned because we're getting sick," Sirling Sanchez, who also lives in the area, said.
Members of her family recently lost voices and wonder if it is connected to the fire and smoke.
"We don't have any answers," Sanchez said.
"So, that's a problem."
Still, some people carried on without concern. Groups of children played outside their apartments in the affected area. Uber driver Ceasar Pinera stood outside his car without a mask while he waited for customers.
He told CBS4 News that the elements can be dangerous but he had a job to do and hoped to be okay.
The three-alarm fire at the Covanta Energy site broke out Sunday at the county-owned facility, prompting a response by over 100 county firefighters.
Officials have said previously that four of 11 buildings at the Covanta site suffered fire damage and two of the structures were still on fire as of Thursday.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava held a news conference to provide updates about the blaze Friday afternoon.
During a news conference Thursday, county officials said there were several near-simultaneous events happening at the site with crews:
- Working to extinguish the fire.
- Demolishing part of the structures that were damaged during the blaze.
- Moving trash from a northern part of the site to prevent it from catching fire.
- Investigating the origins of the blaze.
County officials also said anyone with preexisting respiratory and cardiac conditions, as well as older adults, young children, and expectant mothers, should take extra precautions while outside, including wearing a mask; leaving vehicle windows rolled up if you need to drive through the area; operating a home air conditioning to re-circulate the air inside.