A massive fire erupted early Monday morning at Ukiah’s C&S Waste Solutions Processing Facility, creating a daunting task for firefighters who are painstakingly dismantling and extinguishing smoldering bales of compressed, recycled metals and plastics.
Ukiah Valley Fire Authority’s Battalion Chief Ryan Nelson reported that as of yesterday afternoon, firefighters had managed to process about 250 of the 1,200 burning bales, estimating that it would take at least two more days to fully extinguish the blaze.
The inferno ignited at 4:00 a.m. Monday, with crews arriving to find the facility engulfed in flames. “Flames were coming out of the roof and were 30 to 40 feet tall,” Nelson said. The intense heat caused two walls of the structure to collapse.
Initial firefighting efforts were defensive due to the unknown hazards within the burning building. “You don’t know what material is in there, you don’t know if it is a hazmat, you don’t know if it’s gonna collapse,” Nelson explained. The fire briefly spread to nearby vegetation but was quickly contained.
A ladder truck from the City of Healdsburg Fire Department played a crucial role in the early hours, allowing firefighters to attack the flames from above. To protect against toxic gas inhalation from burning plastics and metals, downwind firefighters used self-contained breathing apparatuses.
The cause of the fire remains unknown. Investigations will be conducted by C&S Waste Solutions’ insurance company and Ukiah Valley Fire Authority’s Fire Investigator Justin Buckingham. “With industrial fires of this size, it’s hard to determine the origin, as evidence is often destroyed,” Nelson noted.
Mutual aid was provided by the Redwood Valley-Calpella Fire Department Volunteers, Hopland Fire Protection District, Potter Valley Fire, City of Healdsburg Fire Department, and CAL FIRE Mendocino Unit.
Dubbed the Taylor Fire, the incident was located at 3515 Taylor Drive. The blaze raised air quality concerns due to the burning plastics. This marks the second fire at the C&S Waste Solutions property in less than a month; a compost conveyor belt ignited on June 11, requiring a multi-department response.
Previous Coverage
I sent in the video on the previous article about this fire. I went down there and took a couple videos before some asshole went off on me and told me, not so politely, to get the fuck off their property, but I got a few videos first. I am very familiar with this facility because it’s the old pear sheds and I worked there for six years as a teenager. The building that burned was the original icehouse. That had the wind tunnels in it. It originally had concrete walls so this must’ve been an intense fire to collapse that building. The amount of toxic smoke that went into the atmosphere was massive. Tons and tons and tons, thousands of tons, of plastics went up in smoke. The EPA should be looking at this company because of this kind of pollution that was released into the atmosphere. I saw it with my own eyes.
Poor entitled you got told to get off private property. I’ve got a tiny violin that I’ll play for you.
Eat shit
Tons and tons of toxic plastic smoke went into the atmosphere, you would think a few videos would serve the public well. Im not entitled. I was getting video specifically to submit to Mendofever. I consider that exercising my First Amendment rights. They didn’t want me taking video because they knew how serious this was. They were trying to cover their ass and conceal whatever evidence. That was obvious to me from the conversation I had with this guy. He even told me to delete any pictures or videos I took and then I drove off.
I would be willing to bet that you have a tiny something that you play with but it’s not a fucking violin.
Nice. A fitting response. I take a 26 second video to document this disaster. I made sure I stayed far away from all fire engines and personnel then I get bagged on by trolls. Just classic. This fire was so much worse than people understand. The amount of petroleum smoke that went into the air was massive. This fire burned for 12 hours at least. But it’s just standard protocol for the Mendofever comments section.
Thanks for the info, and videos. Sad about the rude comments.
Good reporting Bradley….thanks.
Most Fire fighters would have told you the same thing if you tried to approach any fire scene. This is a normal response to a dangerous situation. You have no right or reason to be there unless it is to cause more problems for the crews handling the situation. You may have made yourself a suspect by trying to be on the property in the first place while a major fire was raging.
I was in the parking lot where all the employees parked 100 yards from the fire. You can tell by the video how far it was zoomed in. It was not a firefighter that I talked to. It was a security guard. Did I mention I worked at this place for six years? I know the property well. I was nowhere near the fire. I was zoomed in about 15X with my camera.
FYI. I never came within 200 feet of a firetruck or a firefighter. I never left my vehicle and I filmed from the parking lot where all the employees park and it was filmed near all their cars with people standing there watching and some security guard chased me off. I know better than to interfere with firefighting efforts you jackass.
He had every right to be there it’s called nostalgia and history.
The pear sheds were an important part of the mans youth and life.
The only person that he put at risk was himself by exposing himself to all of that toxic shit.
And law enforcement and firefighting personnel are not stupid they have the abillity to get a read on people and tell the good from the bad.
Bradley and Maverick are confused about what private property means. Not to mention a security guard doing his job told you to leave the premises. Nostalgia is like a delusion which what you both suffer from.
It is a public business. You can walk into the front office and pick up a job application. I barely made it into the property and filmed from the parking lot with dozens of employees standing there watching. I don’t know how much more clearly I can describe it. I wasn’t in anybody’s way. I interfered with nothing. I didn’t get within 200 feet of firetruck or firefighter. I never left my vehicle. I was in a public parking lot. What else do you want from me. Eat a dick! This fire probably added thousands of tons of hydrocarbons to the atmosphere. It could be seen from Redwood Valley and burned for over 12 hours even though the fire department soaked it from above with a water cannon the entire time. All I was doing was trying to get a video specifically to send to Matt. I won’t apologize anymore. I don’t care if it’s private property. It was a public nuisance nightmare that needed documented. If everybody thinks I was a trespasser, then send the cops my way and they can arrest me. Other than that, you can go pound sand.
You realize this isn’t the only fire from a waste facility this year in CA. It is over 100 degrees in the Ukiah like most of inland CA. Tracy had the same thing happen at there facility. You running onto the site for filming purposes might as well be thirsty paparazzi seeking attention.
Stupidity,
Give it the fuck up.
The security guard didn’t see it necessary to call the Sheriff.
Your useless point is made.
Simple enough.
If you have a problem…then similar to what Bradley said, eat a big bag of dicks and go pound sand.
Way to go Bradley?? I think you did the right thing safely. This was a toxic disaster that has exposed many people, animals, and our environment to numerous toxins. We don’t know the cause of the fire and we don’t know what harm it has caused. I drove south on 101 this morning and the plastic smell permeated my closed up car well after Burke Hill. I would think the proper officials have been brought in to investigate the cause and hold people accountable, if appropriate. Thank you
You have zero sense and no class.
Correction other than being a first class Prick.
The bottom line being its nunya fucking bizness!
Ironic coming from a guy defending someone who couldn’t mind his own business and ran into a site of a burning building.
This is a public company and all recyclable materials in this valley go through this facility. I take scrap metal and CRV cans and bottles to this place to recycle. It caught on fire and put tons and tons of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. I drove in the driveway and parked in the public parking lot. What else can I say. If you still think I’m just a trespassing piece of shit paparazzi you got me all wrong. When Redwood Valley caught on fire in 2017 were the people that videotaped it trespassing. What about the Camp Fire? Or any other fire disaster in California in the last decade? Because I filmed this I’m a criminal? Is that the position you are taking?
I hardly ran into the sight of a burning building. There were probably 50 bystanders and company employees just standing there watching. Many employees were leaving because obviously work was canceled that day. I inched my way into the parking lot about 1 mph and took a video. I don’t get your lack of visualization. I’ve described that morning over and over. You are right. Stupidity has no limit. Look in the mirror. As for minding my own business there was a traffic jam on Taylor Rd of rubberneckers. I was just one. I guess I get all the attention for some reason. I’m starting to regret even submitting the video because of asshats like you.
So much for freedom of the press
“One of these days, POW, right in the kisser”
Stupidity Has No Limit. Stupidity is not having the balls to use your real name while posting comments. I have always posted using my birth name. I have nothing to fear and post with the intent of helping my community. I post for no other reason, but I get fed up with trolls that slash and split under a fake moniker.
Bradley didn’t get in anyone’s way. He was chased off by private security personnel. If someone was was interfering with emergency response, I’m with you—get the hell out. Other than that, the public has a right to observe, photograph, videotape, etc. The knee-jerk kowtowing to first responders is sanctimonious bullshit. Photographing from afar in no way obstructs emergency response. John Q Public doesn’t need “reason to be there”. You, me, and everyone you know absolutely has the right.
Amen Brother. This fire was an environmental disaster. I guess you had to be there in person to really see the extent and volume of pollution that was traveling up into the air probably 3000 feet high and spreading south towards Hopland for miles and miles. All toxic plastic burnt pollution. You had to be up early in the morning to see this one, it’s a good thing I couldn’t sleep that night, that’s the only reason I saw it in person. Insomnia.
My mistake Matt. Fuck that low waged wage security guard for doing his job. More people should have ran into the parking to catch more footage like Bradley. So brave. Happy Fourth ?.
I think I know you. Is this John S.? My former neighbor?
If an actual firefighter asked me to leave I would’ve left instantly without saying a word. There is a difference.
As long as people fully don’t interfere with firefighting efforts, in any way, then they have a right to be on the property of a company that’s open to the public. Especially to document this environmental disaster. How is John-Q-Public with an iPhone different than a WSJ reporter wearing a vest that says “Press”? I’m not an official reporter. Just a guy with an iPhone 15 that likes keeping my neighbors informed. How am I different that any other submitter of public content?
Good on ya man,
These guys are doing something improperly down there. This is the second fire in as many months at that facility.
Should we just be complacent in it til they burn our town down?
Keep filming these shitbirds.
I will take a wild guess and assume the risk of stirring up the shit.
Could it be E.V. Batteries from an old worn out Prius for example someone slipped passed them and illegally dumped?
Or were being improperly stored at the facility by the owners and had no buisness being there in the first place.
Trash is combustible …but ok. A prius…how very 2008 of you…
LOL,
While “recyclables” are “trash”, it’s not “garbage”.
That facility sorts and bundles all types of recycable materials taken in at all the transfer stations in Mendo.
They do not process “garbage”.
Compost is high risk for ignition, especially during this season.
Remember the summertime heat wave Cold Creek compost fire in PV a few years ago?
That and metals and/or plastics contaminated with oils or similar VOCs and maybe paper or woody materials would strike me as the higher hazards for ignition or smouldering that could go missed and erupt.
Something as simple as a bobcat bucket dragging a tooth on the concrete could potentially cause a spark and ignition under a pile and smoulder.
I’m not 100% certain, but am pretty sure they don’t accept or keep lithium chemistries on that site.
TCS won’t take them.
Most lithium recyclers have dedicated structures because of the elevated fire hazard.
Someone would have to sneak that into an incoming semi truck load from the outlying transfer stations and it would have to get missed during the sorting.
Ultimately possible, but highly unlikely.
This is excellent coverage. I’m baffled as to why there are so many weird responses, preaching about the evils of EVs, private property and other utter nonsense. Some people are perpetually stuck harping about politics. Their pants could be on fire and they would stlll be hollering about Hunter Biden or vaccine conspiracies. Go outside! It’s local news! Good on the guy who made videos and thanks for doing a good article too
Thank you
Thanks to Bradley for the video coverage.
For Mendo, this is a serious & large scale structure fire event.
Wish I’d had the insight at the time to pull recordings from the Alert Wildfire cameras.
Would help people grasp the scale Bradley and the article speak to.
I think it’s hard for some folks to grasp the intense scale of this fire and the very high concentration of fuels feeding it. The building itself provided little to fueling the fire.
30-40′ tall wall of flames above the high bay ceiling/roof across the entire structure.
22-30′ tall walls?
I imagine the heat coming off was likely felt nearly as far as (or beyond) the parking lot where you took video, Bradley.?.
Especially serious heat stress for the fire fighters managing those early placement of hoses. Thanks for Nomex insulated suits for our firefighters.
Major kudos for containing it from spreading.
Taxes and BBQs/fundraisers for this work are well worth It and well spent.
And it sounds like there’s still smoldering bales being processed.
And likely a long trail of dispersed and condensed (raining down as it cools) poisonous chemicals and ash downriver and beyond.
I worked there for six years during summer time to make a few bucks just like so many generations of Ukiah kids. The first two years I worked on the McCluskey tight fill side where pears were just piled into a box. I did that two years in a row. The first year I worked with Brian Denny (1991) the second year I worked McCluskey with Ed McKee (1992). Then I turned 18 and drove forklift for 2 years. And in ‘95 & ‘96 I worked in the ice house with Rocky James. The building that burned down. The east side of the building was cold storage. The wind tunnels they called it. For quickly cooling pears before they went into refer trucks for transport. The west side of the building was what they called zero atmospheric storage. It was a humongous rooms 30 feet tall 100 feet wide squared. With a large sliding door with rubber seals that they could seal shut. They sucked out all the air and there was zero atmosphere then they filled the room with nitrogen for what they called winter pears. They put the pairs in suspended animation in the summer and they could sit until Christmas time without ripening. There was a sign on the door that said “this atmosphere can not sustain life Do Not Enter.” The walls are 18 inches thick of reinforced concrete. This is the building that burned down. How hot does it have to burn to collapse a structure that is made of reinforced concrete. I worked in the icehouse two years. My supervisor was Don McCallum. He is still friends with my family and visits me and my dad all the time. As members of the LDS church. I’m not making any of this up. There are dozens and dozens of kids that worked in this building that could testify. The walls are reinforced concrete. The roof was reinforced concrete. I imagine the refrigeration units were removed because they are no longer necessary, but it was a concrete box equal to three football fields. That’s what burned down the walls collapse the roof collapsed. That’s how hot this fire got. This is my last post on this subject. I’ve wasted enough time and energy on this topic by responding to fuck faces talking out the side of their sliced neck.
Mic drop
Weren’t they the Thomas family pear sheds before the ’08-’10 recession?
Decades of ìnvestments and productive uses all reduced to an uncontrolled temporary blast furnace.
And it still smolders.
The child is grown. The dream is gone.
Comfortably numb. Long live Pink
I agree that this fire presented a massive challenge for firefighters, especially with the intense heat and hazardous materials involved. It’s interesting that this is the second incident at the C&S Waste Solutions facility within a month, which raises questions about safety measures in place. Thank you for covering these important details, including the efforts of the multiple departments who provided mutual aid to contain the blaze and protect the community.