Nearly 80 firefighters battle heavy flames at northeast Houston recycling center

About two football fields worth of rubber products were burning at a northeast Houston recycling center (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)

HOUSTON – Firefighters are looking into what led up to an immense blaze at a northeast Houston recycling center Wednesday night.

SEE ALSO: Several cars covered in flames at southwest Houston tow yard

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It happened a little after 11 p.m. when the Houston Fire Department got a call to the back of Derichebourg Recycling USA on Wallisville near Wayside Dr. Responding crews said they found “two football fields worth of rubber products” piled up and fully engulfed in flames.

About two football fields worth of rubber products were burning at a northeast Houston recycling center (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)

HFD District Chief Campbell said crews were able to contain the fire to the recycling center, so it would not pose a threat to the community. The fire was so intense though, he said, that flames were more than 40-50 feet in the air at times, prompting between 60 - 80 firefighters to respond and extinguish the blaze.

It would be about 2.5 hours, fire officials say, before significant headway was made on the scene, however, embers were still being extinguished throughout the night.

About two football fields worth of rubber products were burning at a northeast Houston recycling center (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)

It’s unclear what caused the blaze, but an investigation remains underway.


About the Author

Historian, educator, writer, expert on "The Simpsons," amateur photographer, essayist, film & tv reviewer and race/religious identity scholar. Joined KPRC 2 in Spring 2024 but has been featured in various online newspapers and in the Journal of South Texas' Fall 2019 issue.

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