A spectacular log fire at a Parker mulch manufacturing facility Tuesday is predicted to continue burning until Friday.
Four log stacks about 100 feet long and three stories tall began burning about 3 p.m., sending flames leaping 30 feet high and creating a black column of smoke visible in downtown Yakima.
Workers at Waupaca Materials on North Track Road were using equipment to strip logs of bark and chip them into mulch when the fire broke out, said Yakima Fire District No. 5 Chief Brian Vogel.
“By the time we got out here it had already spread to the logs, and that was the biggest challenge,” Vogel said. “Once it starts spreading to the logs, it’s going to do what it does and all we could do is create a perimeter.”
A crew of about 30 firefighters pulled fire hoses, dowsing flames in effort to keep the blaze from spreading to nearby trees and brush.
Two men operated front-loaders to move piles of wood chips away from flames while other firefighters sprayed piles of wood chips with water.
The company is located east of U.S. Highway 97 and west of the Yakima River in the Parker area.