April 1, 2019
Michigan

Michigan wind turbine catches fire; Thick black smoke could be seen from miles away

WWJ | April 01, 2019 | wwjnewsradio.radio.com

Thick black smoke could be seen for miles Monday night as a wind turbined burned in Huron County’s Oliver Township, in the northern part of the thumb region.

Jim Seley, chief of the local township fire department, called it “a first” for his department.

A large group of people had gathered in the area to see the fire, so Seley said the fire department’s job was simply to keep onlookers away from falling debris.

Seley said fire hoses could not reach the blaze, so they had to let it burn out on its own.

“There’s a lot of transmission fluid and oils up there, and that takes a long time for that to burn off,” Seley told WWJ. “Beside that stuff, there’s fiberglass and a lot of black smoke. I talked to the reps out there and they said the blades could come down. That’s why those turbines are a long ways away from buildings and roads.”

The turbine – which is operated by the Exelon Company – is part of network of several hundred across the county and one of many in the area.

“As it was burning, parts of the cell, which is the back end of the turbine, pieces were dropping quite readily, and pretty good sized pieces,” Seley said.

Seley said it eventually burned itself out after more than an hour and a cause has yet to be determined. Nobody was injured during the fire.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2019/04/01/michigan-wind-turbine-catches-fire-thick-black-smoke-could-be-seen-from-miles-away/