* Saturday, August 24, 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.
If you drive in the area, please be aware of the increased truck traffic.
| Total Trucks through 8/23 | 350 |
| Total Tons through 8/23 | 3,385 |
| Trucks as of 3:00 PM 8/24 | 55 |
| Tons as of 3:00 PM 8/24 | 550 |
Please note: The number of trucks leaving the site each day varies depending on the weather and firefighting activities. Also the tons per truck are estimated on days when landfill receipts are not available at the time of this update.
Targeted Firefighting - The first day of beta testing the concrete pumper was a success in helping to fight the fire while minimizing the amount of water used for firefighting and resulting in less run-off water. Due to the increased vertical and horizontal reach, we were able to strategically place more water directly on the areas of concern. As such, the efficiency of the water placement/usage has increased.
Management of Run-off Water - The team created a dam in the ditch along Schinger Avenue today. The firefighting water collected in the ditch is being actively transported to a storm drain manhole and is ultimately sent to the Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority for treatment. BJWSA partnered with the team allowing the use of the nearby manhole conduit to ensure we could process as many loads as possible without the challenges of plant operating hours. Prior to the dam’s construction this afternoon, the team pumped directly from the ditch at the southwest corner of the Site (Schinger and property line) today. On-site operations have revealed that we have a greater success of recovering off-site migrating water by pulling directly from the ditch and disposing of it.
Smoke forecast for Sunday, August 25, 2019:
Light wind from the northeast should persist overnight through the day on Sunday, which should move the Able fire smoke plume generally toward the southwest during that time. Overnight smoke trapping will remain rather minimal, but very light wind speeds may allow smoke concentrations to increase slightly during the overnight to early morning period. During that period, there is a possibility of smoke to the southwest of the Able facility, mainly in the forested area between Schinger Avenue and Argent Blvd. After mid-morning on Sunday, ample vertical mixing should disperse the smoke plume. Please note that 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.
Please click here for real-time data from the air sensors.
For media inquiries: media@dhec.sc.gov.
For other inquiries: ablefire@dhec.sc.gov.
Stay Informed
This page will be updated regularly as information becomes available.