NEWPORT, Ore. — A fire at a Pacific Seafood processing plant on Sunday led officials in Newport, Oregon, to order evacuations within a 1-mile radius over concerns that the smoke contained ammonia, the Associated Press reported.
The city opened a shelter at an elementary school and urged people nearby to stay indoors and wear masks outside. City spokesperson John Fuller said the cause was unknown and no injuries had been reported.
Officials were checking for possible ammonia in the air because of chemicals at the plant, which sits on Yaquina Bay. Ammonia can irritate the skin, eyes and throat at high levels, according to the CDC.
Fuller said the evacuation zone covered a “pretty good chunk” of the town of about 10,000, about 130 miles southwest of Portland.
Sources: Associated Press via KTAR News. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: User:Cacophony / CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.
