WILLISTON, N.D. — A massive fire at an oil supply company was allowed to burn itself out Tuesday in an industrial part of the western North Dakota town of Williston.
Authorities had not said as of Tuesday afternoon what caused the fire at Red River Supply, which Williams County’s emergency manager, Mike Hallesy, said broke out about midnight Monday.
Company officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and law enforcement would not let anyone past the half-mile evacuation border.
Terry O’Clair, director of the Department of Health Air Quality Division, said local fire departments are letting the blaze burn itself out. He also said a National Guard hazardous materials unit is heading to the scene, which is in an area east of downtown filled with warehouses and businesses that service the oil industry.
A large cloud of gray smoke hovered over Williston on Tuesday morning. The North Dakota Department of Health and other agencies are monitoring air quality near the site for any potential threat, according to agency spokesman Tim Wiedrich. Williston Mayor Howard Klug said a hazardous material unit that monitored air quality Tuesday morning found nothing of concern.
Klug visited the scene with emergency workers on Tuesday afternoon and said it will take days to figure out the cause of the fire.