JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — Smoke continued to rise from the rear of the Williamsburg Premium Outlets property Tuesday and into Wednesday as an underground fire burned for at least a fifth-straight day.
By Tuesday night, an excavator was being brought in with the hope that the James City County Fire Department (JCCFD) could begin clearing away crumbled asphalt and concrete in order to better access the source of the fire.
But for much of the day, emergency crews once again babysat the smoldering crater that was much of the outlets’ overflow parking lot, with the goal of minimizing as much harm as possible.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my career,” said Joe Davis, the county fire marshal. “We don’t have really a real fire experience with structures like this.”
Wednesday morning, James City County posted to Facebook, claiming that higher humidity in the area is causing smokier conditions than normal. The humidity is expected to drop below 50% by Wednesday afternoon, hopefully allowing conditions to improve.
In addition, officials announced that the property owner hired a contractor to work alongside the fire department in order to gain access to the fire.
The fire was first reported around 9 a.m. Saturday at the only parking lot in the rear of the outlet mall. The property, owned by retail developer-giant Simon Property Group, is located just outside of the Williamsburg city limits in an area of the county that used to be known as Ewell.
The lot, which has since mostly crumbled, is built on top of an underground stormwater chamber consisting of modular crates made of high-density plastic, according to the county. The fire department believes those crates are what is on fire.
The county had decided to let the fire burn itself out. At this point, it hasn’t been safe for crews to get close enough to truly see what they are dealing with, according to Davis. There are also concerns on what might be in runoff if water was added to the equation.
“It’s in effect, it’s a basin dug out in the dirt,” Davis said.
While retailers certainly want attention as the holiday shopping season goes into full swing, the hazy air and burnt plastic aroma that is unescapable on much of the property is likely far from what any business person had in mind.
Foot traffic appeared steady Tuesday as stores remained open.
The Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Department of Environmental Quality and even the Environmental Protection Agency all were on scene monitoring air quality levels.
“All of our air monitoring results so far have shown no levels of concern,” said Joe Gawarzewski, the on-scene coordinator for the EPA. “Yes, if you’re working over the fire, you’re downwind of it. It’s going to be irritants. You stay away from it and you take the appropriate actions.”
Environmental concerns can be reported here: https://portal.deq.virginia.gov/prep/createReport
At this point, Davis said a cause can’t be determined until they can access the site. However, the investigation is underway.
“We’ve been speaking with the business owners and employees here at the outlets,” Davis said, “as well as neighbors in the back to try to develop a timeline as to when somebody first smelled something.”