Home / Disasters and Accidents / Tracy Warehouse Fire: Smoke Blankets San Joaquin Valley
Tracy Warehouse Fire: Smoke Blankets San Joaquin Valley
13 Jun
Summary
- A warehouse fire in Tracy is expected to burn for days.
- Smoke from the fire is impacting air quality across the San Joaquin Valley.
- Hazardous materials, including lithium batteries, were stored at the warehouse.
A significant fire erupted at the Medline Industries warehouse in Tracy on Thursday afternoon and continued to burn into Friday. Fire officials estimate it could take days to fully extinguish the blaze. As a result, smoke from the fire has migrated across the San Joaquin Valley, leading to concerns about air quality.
The Valley Air District issued advisories, warning that surface smoke is possible across San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare counties, and the San Joaquin Valley portion of Kern County. Residents in affected areas are encouraged to remain indoors, close windows and doors, and use air filtration. The air quality is expected to be impacted until the fire is extinguished.
Adding to the concern, officials confirmed that hazardous materials were present in the warehouse. This included several hundred robots powered by lithium batteries, used for shelf loading. A hazardous materials team was reviewing the stored items to assess potential risks.
