Crews battle major fire at Pacific Seafood plant in Newport Bayfront; Reduced evacuation zone

NEWPORT Oregon (KPTV) – Crews are battling a large structure fire on the Newport waterfront that broke out Sunday morning, forcing evacuations in the area.

Authorities say the fire was reported shortly before 9 a.m. at 213 Southwest Bay Boulevard, home to a Pacific Seafood factory on the historic Newport Bayfront.

According to the city of Newport, approximately 30 to 40 people were working in the building at the time, but all were able to get out safely.

One firefighter was taken to hospital and treated for exhaustion.

Evacuations

Level 3 “Leave now!” » and Level 2 evacuations have been issued for much of the waterfront area due to potential ammonia contamination from the plant. However, around 3:30 p.m., officials said crews were able to mitigate the risk of an ammonia leak from a tank and narrow the evacuation zone to just a few blocks due to smoke:

The evacuation map is available here and will be updated.

Authorities urged everyone in the area to stay indoors if possible and wear a mask if they must go out.

An evacuation shelter was moved from Sam Case Elementary School to Atonement Lutheran Church, located at 2315 North Coast Highway in Newport. Pets are welcome.

Information and resources can be found on the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

Closures

• The Samaritan Communities of the Pacific Hospital remains opensay the authorities.
• Highway 20 is closed from West Harney Street to Highway 101, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
• The Newport Aquarium announced it would be closed for the rest of the day on Sunday.

The City of Newport shared video of the fire on its official Facebook page:

This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available.