Stacks of Lumber Continue to Burn in Kansas City, MO

More than 24 hours after a fire engulfed a lumberyard just east of downtown Kansas City, firefighters are still on the scene working to put out flames and hot spots in stacks of lumber.

The Kansas City Fire Department rotated personnel all day Tuesday and overnight into Wednesday morning, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins, a fire department spokesman.

The scene remains active with smoldering and flames contained to certain areas within the lumber, Hopkins said. An investigation into what caused the fire can’t begin until the flames are completely extinguished, he said.

“We knew yesterday, when we saw the size of it, that this would probably be a couple day operation over there,” Hopkins said in a phone call Wednesday.

Firefighters first responded to the massive blaze around 6:15 a.m. Tuesday at the Central Missouri Reload Inc. lumberyard, 3900 E. 14th Terrace. Flames could be seen by commuters as they drove through the Jackson curve east of downtown.

Crews found an outbuilding where stacks of lumber that had come off the rail yard were fully engulfed in flames.

Firefighters began a defensive attack because of its size, Hopkins said. They sprayed large streams of water from multiple ariel trucks to bring the fire under control.

Streams of water could be seen flowing down the side streets surrounding the lumberyard, where trucks were hooked up to multiple fire hydrants.

The fire was brought under control shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday, Hopkins said.

The lumber is the biggest challenge that firefighters faced in battling the blaze, Hopkins said. The lumber comes in large stacks and, once it starts burning inside, firefighters have to pull the stacks apart and spread them out to get to the fire.

Now in their second day fighting the fire, crews continue to spray water and unstack lumber, Hopkins said.

“The fire gets deep-seated into those stacks of lumber,” Hopkins said. “We run into the same thing in the spring and summer... with mulch companies with huge piles of mulch; Once it starts burning down inside, it’s a process.”

Lumberyard owner grapples with fires

Hopkins said on Wednesday that he remembers the fire department responding to at least one other fire at Central Missouri Reload Inc. earlier this year.

Keith Fletcher, 59, is the owner of the 40-year-old business, which offloads materials and relocates them to other yards.

He told The Star Tuesday that his business has suffered three fires in the past year, enduring significant losses each time. Investigators had determined those fires were started by unhoused people in the area, Fletcher said.

Looking over the scene Tuesday, Fletcher said he anticipates about a $5 million loss.

Hopkins said a KCFD fire marshal was in contact with the Kansas City Police Department’s bomb and arson unit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Investigators anticipate the investigation to take a while, Hopkins said.

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