Fire officials OK’d tire storage site

A fire tore through the pile of tires being stored, along with other race materials, at Bonanza Road and D Street about 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Firefighters battled the blaze for hours before extinguishing it. Black smoke hovered over the valley well into the night.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, said Fire Chief David Washington.

Fire officials had signed off on the storage location. Firefighters have said the site was appropriate because the tires were stacked and weren’t near any structure.

Fire officials inspected the site before the Vegas Grand Prix, said Deputy Fire Chief Rick Gracia, though he did not know the date of the inspection. He also said the location was well suited to store tires.

The Southern Nevada Health District conducted a preliminary assessment of the environmental impact of the fire.

The good news was that the site was well contained, said Dennis Campbell, an environmental health manager for solid waste and compliance.

It is too soon to know what kinds of contaminants were released into the soil, he said.

“We don’t know if there was anything there but the tires, we don’t know their age, who manufactured them, or what kind of contaminants went into the soil,” Campbell said.

The case has been referred to the state Environmental Protection Agency’s corrective actions bureau, Campbell said. He added that air quality reports have not shown anything unusual.

It also is too soon to know where tires will be stored for next year’s downtown event, Washington said.