Most evacuation orders have been lifted in Newport, Oregon, after firefighters mitigated an ammonia leak risk at a major seafood plant that forced hundreds from their homes.
A fire broke out on the morning of Oct. 25 at the Pacific Seafood plant in the coastal city, about 130 miles southwest of Portland, and authorities ordered a level 3 “go now” evacuation for a one-mile radius around the facility.
USA TODAY reported that nearly all of those orders were later lifted after crews determined the threat of a larger ammonia release had been brought under control, though one street near the plant remained off-limits and firefighters kept battling the blaze into the night.
Videos from the scene showed plumes of white smoke. Roughly 30 to 40 people were inside the building when the fire started. City officials said every one of them was accounted for and none was harmed.
One firefighter was treated for exhaustion. About 60 firefighters answered the call, including crews from neighboring counties. Hazmat teams used specialized gear to watch the air. The Oregon State Fire Marshal, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Newport Police Department, and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office all assisted.
By the afternoon of Oct. 25, responders had gotten onto the property and concluded the risk of an ammonia leak or spill had been mitigated. Anhydrous ammonia is used in refrigeration at the plant. That chemical is the reason the evacuation came so fast and so wide.
State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple addressed the central worry in a news release, as carried by the Statesman Journal.
"The ammonia tank has been found and, thankfully, doesn’t appear to be punctured or leaking."
City officials described the same early readings in plain terms.
"While small traces of ammonia were present in the smoke early this morning, they were at non-harmful levels. Evacuation was precautionary at the risk of a larger leak or spill."
That precaution was not empty theater. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes ammonia as a toxic, colorless compound that can severely burn the eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs, with long-term exposure carrying a risk of permanent lung damage. Getting people out of a one-mile ring while hazmat checked the air was basic protective judgment, not panic.
Pacific Seafood is a large, family-owned seafood processor, distributor, and aquaculture company headquartered in Clackamas, Oregon. It employs more than 3,000 workers across 11 states. A fire at a plant of that size is not a small local nuisance. It is a hit on paychecks, supply chains, and a coastal town that depends on the industry.
The cause of the fire was not identified in the initial reporting. Neither was a full damage assessment of the plant, nor a timetable for when operations might resume. Those answers still matter to the workers and to the community that had to leave home on short notice.
Into the night of Oct. 25, firefighters were still working to contain the fire. City officials told residents to wear masks outdoors to cut down smoke exposure. By the next morning, most people in the evacuation zone had been cleared to return. One nearby street stayed under order.
Hundreds had been forced out. The all-clear for most of them came only after the tank was located, the air was checked, and the leak-or-spill risk was judged under control. That sequence is what competent emergency response looks like when an industrial site stores a chemical that can turn a plant fire into a neighborhood hazard.
When a working plant catches fire next to homes, the measure of leadership is simple: get people out, secure the threat, and tell the truth about what is still burning. Newport’s crews did the hard part first.
