Toxic mill fire forces Crossett evacuations

A large fire at a closeddown Arkansas plywood mill in Crossett prompted evacuations in the surrounding area Saturday.

Officials said there were no reported deaths or injuries from the blaze.

The Crossett Fire Department reported about 11 a.m. Saturday that smoke coming from the Georgia Pacific plywood mill, just off U.S. 82, was “extremely toxic.”

Later Saturday morning, the department began evacuating the blocks surrounding the mill, instructing anyone from First Avenue to Third Avenue to leave the area.

Jennifer King, a spokesman

with Georgia Pacific, said a demolition crew was working in the mill when an explosion occurred and the fire began. There were oxygen tanks inside the mill, she said, though she didn’t know whether they contributed to the fire.

King said she believes that everyone in the demolition crew was able to escape the mill before the fire spread.

About 50 people were still at work at the Georgia Pacific chemical plant, which is beside the mill that caught fire. King said the company did not plan to evacuate that building.

Michael Johns said he had been inside the mill two weeks ago. Southern Contractors, the company where he works as an electrical apprentice, was moving the fire alarm system to prepare for the demolition of the guardhouse outside the mill.

The mill has been abandoned for years, Johns said, and Georgia Pacific planned to finish demolishing it by next spring.

About a mile-long section of U.S. 82 was closed for about 5½ hours Saturday.