First published: April 25, 2005
By Milne Hall
About 14:30 today, I was just stepping outside my front door when I saw a large black cloud stretching from the D’Arcy Street/Elgin Street East to beyond the horizon to the east. The smoke was several kilometers high, and the volume of smoke was something I’ve never seen before.
I picked up my camera and headed over towards the gerenal area where the smoke was originating: the Northam Industrial Park.
As I got closer to the park, the magnitude of the blaze was becoming clear. When I reached D’Arcy Street, the odor of burning plastic, the heat from the fire and the sound of the blaze were overpowering.
The sound was like listening to Niagara Falls from a few meters away.
Just then a policeman told me to leave the area, so I headed for home.
At around 19:00 there was only a small fraction of smoke coming from park.