CALCASIEU PARISH, La. — The fire at BioLab has been contained, and the shelter-in-place has been lifted, according to Louisiana State Police.
Updates from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality include:
- Chlorine Levels: Plant monitors have reported non-detect chlorine readings, indicating that chlorine levels are within safe limits.
- Road Closures: There are no road closures at this time. However, winds are currently coming from the North-northeast, and we will reassess the situation as winds are expected to change.
- Shelter in Place: Louisiana State Police advises that the Golden Nugget and L’Auberge du Lac casinos shelter in place for their safety.
- Air Monitoring: LSP is actively monitoring the air quality at Westlake Chemical. Additionally, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is en route to conduct air monitoring along I-210.
- Ship Channel Precautions: The U.S. Coast Guard has temporarily shut down mile markers 33-36 of the ship channel as a precautionary measure until further updates are available.
BioLab can confirm it has now fully contained the smoke previously emanating from its facility and expects to resume operations at its facility in short order. We are grateful to our employees onsite, who are all accounted for with no injuries reported. We also want to thank the first responders and local authorities for their collaboration in swiftly bringing this incident under control. As always, the safety and well-being of our community in Lake Charles remain our top priority.
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ORIGINAL STORY:
Emergency officials have called for a precautionary shelter-in-place due to a warehouse fire.
The affected area is a quarter mile south of the fire at the BioLab facility in Westlake, according to Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office.
Here's a statement we've received from a BioLab spokesperson:
“BioLab is actively investigating the origin of smoke emanating from our Lake Charles facility. All of our employees are accounted for with no injuries reported. As always, the safety and well-being of our community in Lake Charles remains of the utmost importance, and we have deployed our own specialized experts onsite to work cooperatively with first responders and local authorities in order to address the incident.”
Shelter-In-Place Guidelines: https://fb.watch/rdK_mNDk71/
1. Go Inside
2. Shut Doors and Windows
3. Turn off AC and ventilation
4. Wait for further instruction
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