Kelly Hahn Johnson/The Roanoke Times

Smoke rises from burning tires on W.J. Keeling's property in Roanoke County. Officials say more than 3 million tires may be stored at the illegal dump. A brush fire spread to the tires Saturday, and firefighters say it could burn for weeks or even months.

Sunday, March 24, 2002
Officials ask residents of 2 Roanoke County neighborhoods to evacuate
Brush fire ignites illegal tire dump

Firefighters say they have long worried about W.J. Keeling's tire dump, which contains millions of tires.

By GREG ESPOSITO and JOEL TURNER
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   A fire broke out Saturday afternoon at an illegal Southwest Roanoke County dump that contained an estimated 3 million to 4 million tires, prompting the voluntary evacuation of two nearby neighborhoods.

    Jennifer Conley-Sexton, a spokeswoman for the Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department, said a brush fire beside railroad tracks near the dump on Starlight Lane started about 3 p.m. and soon spread to the tires. By 4 p.m., black, billowing smoke could be seen from Interstate 581. A voluntary evacuation of the King's Chase and Branderwood neighborhoods was under way by early evening, and about 15 families had gathered at a shelter set up at Penn Forest Elementary School by 8:30 p.m., Conley-Sexton said.

SETH M. GITNER / The Roanoke Times A fire engine rolls by on Back Creek Road in South Roanoke County as smoke billows from the tire fire a few miles away.

    She said she did not know if sparks from a passing train caused the initial brush fire. With the windy and dry conditions, anything could have started the fire, she said. There were no reports of injuries or homes that had caught fire Saturday night, although several houses were being threatened, she said.

    Fire Lt. Marc Burak said flames reached 75 to 100 feet in the air. The heat from the fire was creating its own winds, and he said a steel building near the dump was covered in flames. As the fire climbed up the mountain toward the truck, Burak sped away without wrapping up the hose. It then snapped off when it caught on something, perhaps another fire truck, Burak said.

    Conley-Sexton said she did not know how large the tire fire was. She said the firefighters' top priority was the 10-acre brush fire next to the dump because it was threatening homes and could spread. But Burak said the department has been worried about the prospect of fighting a major tire fire at that site for a long time.

    "It's something we've talked about for years, and it's here," he said. "Rubber's just impossible to put out."

    Fire Capt. Bill Duff said several small piles of tires were ablaze. That's easier to handle than one large fire because the fires can be isolated, but tire fires are difficult to fight, he said.

    "It's usually a long, drawn-out process," he said. "Usually tire fires last weeks or months."

    In addition to battling the black smoke, firefighters have to contend with oil runoff from the melted tires. The fires can smolder for months under a crust of rubber and oil that makes the fire impossible to get to without special excavating equipment, Duff said.

    Fire departments from around Roanoke County, plus the cities of Roanoke and Salem, were called to the blaze. Helicopters from the Virginia Department of Forestry dropped water on the blaze. Hazardous materials crews also headed toward the fire as firefighters took out handkerchiefs and masks to protect themselves from the fumes.

    The Blue Ridge Parkway from U.S. 220 to U.S. 221 was closed Saturday night, as were parts of Starkey, Buck Mountain and Merriman roads. Conley-Sexton said trains were still traveling through the area.

KELLY HAHN JOHNSON / The Roanoke Times Smoke obscures burning tires on W.J. Keeling's property in Roanoke county.

    Starlight Lane was also closed, but Teresa and Bobby Argabright, who live on Starlight about two miles from the dump, said they planned to stay Saturday night. Bobby Argabright, 51, said he has lived in the area his whole life. Looking up at the smoke pouring out of the glowing mass of tires, he said he'd never seen anything like that before. He said he knows W.J. Keeling, the dump's owner, and feels sorry for him.

    "But it's a shame when something like this happens," he said.

    Keeling's dump contains up to 4 million tires, according to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Five small fires broke out at the dump in the 1970s, and the DEQ worked with county officials to develop a response should a larger fire occur.

    Last month, a brush fire that covered 2 acres came within 100 yards of the tire dump, but 15 Roanoke County and state firefighters got the fire under control about 30 minutes after it started.

    A Roanoke County court convicted Keeling of operating an illegal dump at the site more than a decade ago. Since then, authorities have unsuccessfully tried to force him to remove the tires.

    Keeling has accumulated tires on the property for nearly 40 years. Automobile tires, lawn mower tires and earth-moving equipment tires are spread over more than 100 acres.

    In the early 1960s, Keeling began storing tires on the land because he planned to build a tire recapping plant and a factory that would recycle old tires into rubber for new ones. He also had plans for a laboratory that would find new uses for old tires.

    The state Department of Emergency Management and the DEQ have sent teams to the fire site to deal with potential hazardous materials and environmental problems that could occur, said Janet Clements, director of public affairs for the emergency management department.

    Emergency officials are developing a contingency plan for water runoff from the site, which can often become a problem in tire fires, Clements said. When a huge amount of water is poured onto burning tires, it can create water pollution problems because of petroleum products in the rubber, she said.

    She said the state Health Department would address any health risks that the smoke might cause for people with asthma or other respiratory problems.

    As far as hopes for extinguishing the blaze, Burak said it had the upper hand Saturday night.

    "It's going to do what it wants to do and go where it wants to go right now," he said.

Greg Esposito can be reached    at 981-3341 or grege@roanoke.com.

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