Warehouse Fire Aftermath
The owner of the warehouse where the El Paso Fire Department battled a massive blaze last week now has to clean up thousands of gallons of water that were left behind.
A fire department spokesman said they easily used more than one million gallons of water putting out the fire at the Los Angeles to El Paso Express Warehouse on Delta and Coles in Central El Paso. The fire sparked on Friday and had crews busy until Monday, when it re-ignited.
El Paso Water Utilities say about 5-thousand gallons of water are left on the property. The water has formed a makeshift pond. It mixed with items inside the warehouse, including bars of aluminum, plastic materials, clothing, and about 40-thousand pounds of red chile powder. Everything inside the building retail items shipped for downtown stores.
The owner, Raul Rivera, gave ABC-7 an exclusive tour of the charred warehouse. The skeleton of the ceiling still hung low, and the stench smelled of burnt plastic, chile powder and other melting materials.
Fire department investigators are still looking into the cause of the blaze, but Rivera has said he suspects arson.
Rivera has to remove the sludge from the water, then pump it into his private sewer line. EPWU has already approved the move, and tested the water. It was not contaminated. Once in the sewer, the water will go to a waste water plant that handles about 17-million of gallons of water per day.
RIvera says he has already acquired another warehouse in Central El Paso and has no choice but to demolish the burned building. As for his customers, he is waiting to hear if his insurance will reimburse their property, but advises them to ensure their shipments.
