Massive wind-fueled fire at Camp Small in Baltimore shuts down I-83, Light Rail overnight

By Jake Shindel, Tori Yorgey, Jason Newton, Greg Ng

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    BALTIMORE (WBAL) — Strong winds fueled a fast-moving, massive fire at a north Baltimore lumber yard that has been burning for hours, sending flames dozens of feet into the air at the height of the fire.

WHAT WE KNOW » Massive fire has been burning for more than 14 hours » No injuries reported » Winds weaken slightly, but wind chill in the teens, affecting water on firefight » JFX fully reopens (Coldspring Lane exit closed); Light Rail shut down » PolyWestern and The Maryland Zoo closed Friday

The fire started around 5:15 p.m. Thursday at Camp Small in Woodberry, and firefighters remained in “defense mode” for hours later Thursday night, trying to combat the massive flames, Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace said around 10 p.m.

BALTIMORE FIRE: WHAT’S CLOSED I-83 was shut down for hours overnight between Northern Parkway and Druid Park Lake Drive. The northbound lanes reopened around 7:45 a.m. Friday, and the southbound lanes reopened around 8:15 a.m. But the Coldspring Lane exit remains closed.

Portions of Coldspring Lane and Druid Park Lake Drive are closed near the fire scene.

The Light Rail is shut down between North Avenue to Falls Road with shuttle bus service in place.

The Maryland Zoo is closed to the public Friday (private events to go on as scheduled) to help keep traffic away from the area. The zoo animals are safe, however, as they were being kept inside due to extremely cold temperatures and winds directing smoke away from the zoo.

Wallace said the fire is similar to a three-alarm fire, and that at least 100 firefighters are battling the fire.

Early Friday morning, Baltimore Fire spokesman John Marsh told 11 News crews were waiting for sunrise to assess smoke conditions across Interstate 83 as there were still burning units in place on all sides and the fire was contained in the footprint.

The fire chief said the weather challenged the firefight and maintaining safety.

While winds weakened by Friday morning, the wind chill remained in the teens, contributing to pavement temperatures around 24 degrees.

After several vehicles drove over a large fire hose laid across Coldspring Lane, leading to the fire scene, 11 News observed a significant leak. The water was turned off within a half hour.

Chief: ‘We’ve gained an upper hand on this’ During an 11 p.m. news conference, Wallace said the fire was not under control but crews were gaining traction.

“We’ve gained a lot of ground on the fire since our last briefing,” Wallace said during the news conference. “This has been a challenge because it’s a wind-driven fire and it has been very difficult for us to get ahead of it … This fire is not under control; however, we’ve gained an upper hand on this.”

The fire chief said there were early concerns that the fire could block the road leading to the fire scene.

“There’s one road that goes in and out of the area, so the challenge we have, is we have one way of ingress,” Wallace said.

Difference between night and day Flames could be seen shooting dozens of feet into the air as the piles of lumber were already about 30 feet tall.

By 6 a.m. Friday, the flames had largely died down but thick smoke billowed form the scene as strike teams continued to put water on the fire.

Fire’s impact on city events City officials cited the fire for the cancellation of a fireworks display at the Washington Monument holiday lighting ceremony that was underway at the time of the fire.

“We have three particularly bad fires going on in Baltimore City right now that are being spread by the high wind,” Baltimore City Comptroller Bill Henry said. “Because those fires require a lot of attention, we are not going to be able to set off the fireworks here tonight.”

What is Camp Small? The fire is burning at Camp Small, a wood waste collection yard, and more than a dozen fire companies have responded. Many logs are fueling the fire, along with high winds.

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