Massive fire at Glynn County Pinova plant now out, officials lift shelter in place, evacuation orders

BRUNSWICK, Ga. – Brunswick City and Glynn County fire departments said the massive fire at the Pinova Plant is finally out after reigniting around 3 p.m. Saturday.

The shelter-in-place and evacuation order has also been lifted.

The latest update came around 10:08 p.m.

Brunswick Mayor Cosby Johnson had issued the shelter in place order during a briefing at the Mobile Command Center around 8:30 p.m.

“I named a local declaration of emergency being declared for the city of Brunswick because we did not know the extent to which we could contain this fire,” Johnson said. “We could not foresee where the wind would be moving. We thought it would be best for us to talk to our entire city and not just one singular piece of it.”

Watch the full news conference below.

Earlier, Johnson also recommended voluntary evacuations for residents staying within at least a 1/2 mile of the plant while urging others to adhere to the shelter-in-place order.

“We understand that is something difficult to do, but we are asking you to commit to not only keeping us safe but keeping other citizens safe and keeping your family safe,” Johnson said.

At 10:08 p.m., the Glynn County Board of Commissioners tweeted out a message saying the fire was out and that crews will be deploying foam for the next hour.

“The goal at this time was to set up a foam operation around the incident. The last report I have is that the flames are contained and under control due to the foam operations, and we’re going to continue those operations until the scene is completely controlled,” officials said.

The cause of the fire is still unknown at this time.

Just before 3:30 p.m., Glynn County officials ordered a shelter-in-place for residents living on St. Simons Island and north of the St. Simons Island Airport along a one-mile radius of the plant due to wind conditions.

The shelter-in-place is active until further notice.

According to Glynn County Director of Communications Katie Baasen, the fire started around 7 a.m. Officials said it was cleared and contained just before 10 a.m. Around 3 p.m., the flames reignited.

There are still no injuries reported.

Since there are several structures that are on fire, it’s unclear how long it will take crews to extinguish it.

Brunswick and Glynn counties fire crews are bringing in additional crews from Wayne, Chatham and Camden counties to assist in fighting the blaze. Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department also arrived to help around 6 p.m.

The Georgia Forestry Commission is also doing airdrops on the site to combat the blaze.

This second fire in five months to erupt at a Brunswick plant. In November, an industrial fire sparked multiple explosions at a chemical plant.