* Tuesday, August 20, 2019
This page will be updated regularly as information becomes available.
Latest Update
The primary incident objectives continue to be fighting the fire, minimizing impact to public health, and evaluating potential environmental impacts.
Over the weekend there was a smooth transition from state lead to EPA lead. EPA brings federal resources in with the goals of extinguishing the fire and minimizing the chance of re-ignition of the material. Please refer to the EPA website for additional updates.
| Day | Number of Truckloads Removed from Site |
|---|---|
| Saturday | 37 (378 tons) |
| Monday | 66 (641 tons) |
| Tuesday | 61 (as of 3:00 PM) |
Please note: the number of trucks per day is subject to vary due to weather and logistical issues associated with fighting the fire.
Today, there is visible smoke coming from the pile. Work continues to pull apart the pile and spray down the debris before it is loaded and hauled away. Air monitoring around the site continues.
Particulate readings at the EPA Command Post and at the Sun City monitor reported moderate air quality with an average of 15.6 ug/m3 and 13 ug/m3 which are slightly above the 12.0 ug/m3 threshold for “good” category. Particulates at all other stations, including Okatie Elementary School, reported good air quality (≤12 ug/m3) for the period. [Refer to AQI Chart]
Firefighting water is being recycled to the extent practical.
DHEC has collected drinking water samples from wells closest to Able Contracting and have not seen any impacts to drinking water from the Able site or from the firefighting activities.
DHEC will conduct surface water sampling around the site and the downstream watershed.
Smoke forecast for Wednesday, August 21, 2019:
Light south and southwest wind should persist through Wednesday, which should continue to move the Able fire smoke plume generally in a north and northeast direction. The atmosphere will remain moist and overnight smoke trapping will remain rather minimal, but light winds overnight may allow smoke concentrations to increase slightly through the overnight period. Smoke is possible from the 2500 block of Argent Blvd to the intersection of Argent Blvd and Okatie Hwy primarily during the early morning hours, dissipating by mid-morning Wednesday. Locations closest to the Able Contracting Recycling facility along Schinger Avenue are more likely to experience smoke at any given time.
The Able Contracting Information Hotline has been established to provide the daily forecast and allow community members to leave messages if they have additional questions. The Smoke Forecast Hotline phone number is 803-898-4262 or 1-800‐204-1842.
For media inquiries: media@dhec.sc.gov.
For other inquiries: ablefire@dhec.sc.gov.