COLUMBUS, Ohio — As scraps of metal, including old cars, burned at a southeast Columbus scrapyard on Friday, the fire sent plumes of smoke that could be seen from miles away.
The sight was a shock for many going about their morning commute.
“When I first seen it I was like, I didn’t know what it was I was like wow it is crazy,” said Wesley Kelley.
He and his wife Rashanna live about seven miles away. She said it looked like a storm cloud.
“I was like, 'No that’s smoke something is on fire,'” Wesley said. “I have never seen nothing like that.”
Kayla Miller noticed the plumes when she left to take a dog for a walk.
“Is it going to spread, is it going to be put out, because I live right there, it is so close, I’m like are they gonna be able to put it out, what is going on,” she said.
The Marion Fire Department posted on Facebook after it received reports of something burning and the smell of smoke.
The city is about 50 miles away from the scrapyard.
“Upon investigation, we are smelling the smoke from the scrapyard fire in Columbus. Reports of the smell of smoke are popping up across north central Ohio this morning,” the post read.
The sight of the smoke had people concerned about the air quality.
“We’re definitely going to stay inside. We rolled down the window to look at it and we got a cough, so the smoke is really strong,” said Rashanna.
The Columbus Division of Fire offered updates on air quality throughout the day and said there was no evidence of any hazardous materials being part of the fire. The department advised anyone with health conditions to shelter in place but did not expect to issue any evacuation orders.
As of Friday, there is not a concern that the fire could spread.