Lea este artículo en español aquí.
The Hollister Fire Department (HFD) said on its Facebook page that crews first responded to a fire at the corner of San Felipe & Shore Road around 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14. That fire is still burning .
“When crews arrived on the scene at Clean Green Recycling they discovered a very large pile of wood and mulch burning, the post reads. “The flames took off to an extreme with no immediate surroundings in danger, so crews were monitoring the fire to ensure it wouldn’t spread, and still are to this very moment. Road closures did take place to ensure the safety of commuters traveling in the fire’s path, and roads are back open currently. There is no threat to public safety at this time.”
HFD added that the business is in violation of many health and safety codes and they cannot operate until they gain compliance.
BenitoLink reached out to HFD on Oct 18 but all firefighting personnel were at the scene and unavailable for comment.
Rosemary Dere, Public Information Officer for San Benito County, told BenitoLink the county has had issues with Clean Green Recycling in the past. She said it has been cited several times in at least two years by code enforcement, and the company is not operating under a permit. Permit paperwork has put off many times and only minor changes have been made. Dere said.
With the help of Integrated Waste Management, Z Best, Recology and others, the county has removed 441.2 tons of debris from the site as of 11 a.m. Oct 18. The county will seek funding from the State to help fight the fire on the now red-tagged property.
 100vw, 780px”><figcaption class=)
Crews clear debris on site. Photo by Noe Magana. ” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1″ data-id=”111530″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1″ alt=”” class=”wp-image-111530″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C1045&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C471&ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/566A9930-1024×683.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px”>
In a previous interview with KSBW, Dere said firefighters would let the fire burn itself out and that they were working to protect surrounding structures.
Dere told BenitoLink that the fire probably started by spontaneous ignition. Compost piles produce heat and though uncommon can spontaneously combust. According to helpmecompost.com “Compost will only catch fire if the decomposing material reaches temperatures where the compost material begins to smolder and the upper layers of the compost have started to dry out. While the smoldering may not cause the compost to catch fire if it is moist enough, it could ignite dry material placed on top of the compost, especially if the dry matter has a resinous composition, such as pine needles.”
BenitoLink reached out to Clean Green Recycling but has not had a response.
According to National Weather Service, San Benito and surrounding counties are under a red flag waring until 5 p.m. Oct. 19 due to strong winds and low humidity.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.
