LAKEPORT, Calif. – Firefighters were able to contain a Monday night fire before it damaged the Lake County Waste Solutions transfer station.
The fire at the waste and recycling facility, located at 230 Soda Bay Road, was first reported shortly before 9 p.m. Monday.
Lakeport and Kelseyville Fire personnel responded, with Northshore Fire sending a water tender from its Upper Lake station after receiving a mutual aid request, according to radio reports.
Rose Davidson, who was visiting her parents a few doors down on Soda Bay Road, said she saw the fire glowing in the building and then heard several explosions coming from the fire.
She said a neighbor called 911 to report the fire after initially hearing the explosions and thinking they were gunshots.
Firefighters had to cut through the gate to gain entry, said Davidson, adding that fire personnel were able to contain the fire to the building – located nearest to the road – keeping the blaze from spreading into nearby vegetation.
The fire was reported to be contained just after 10:20 p.m., with some of the units released shortly afterward, according to reports from the scene.
Bruce McCracken, contacted by Lake County News as he was on his way to the transfer station, suggested that the fire probably started from someone dumping hot ashes into garbage.
He said that only a large pile of garbage in the building burned, with no damage to equipment or the building itself.
C&S Waste Solutions, as Lake County Waste Solutions, is the franchise hauler for county of Lake. It also serves as the franchise hauler for the city of Clearlake under the name Clearlake Waste Solutions.
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