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A plume of smoke rises from a petrochemical fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company Monday, March 18, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. The large fire at a Houston-area petrochemicals terminal will likely burn for another two days, authorities said Monday, noting that air quality around the facility was testing within normal guidelines. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
HOUSTON (AP) - Crews on Wednesday extinguished a fire that burned for days at a Houston-area petrochemicals storage facility and began cleaning up the site.
International Terminals Company spokeswoman Alice Richardson said at a news conference that the cleanup efforts will allow workers to reach the site and begin the investigation into what caused the blaze.
Crews will continue spraying foam and water on tanks that caught fire to cool them down and prevent the blaze from reigniting, Richardson said. The tanks contained components of gasoline and materials used in nail polish remover, glues and paint thinner.
The fire in Deer Park was extinguished at 3 a.m. Wednesday. It began Sunday at the facility southeast of Houston, sending a huge, dark plume of smoke thousands of feet in the air.
Adam Adams, an official with the Environmental Protection Agency, said testing shows the air quality remains safe. Officials said Tuesday that the smoke was reaching at least 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) up and staying high enough so that the air quality at ground level was safe.
Company officials earlier had said that eight tanks caught fire while seven other tanks in the same section of the storage facility did not.
"Of course ITC is very sorry," Richardson said during a news conference Tuesday. "This isn't an event we wanted."
A plume of smoke rises from a petrochemical fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company Monday, March 18, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. The large fire at the Houston-area petrochemicals terminal will likely burn for another two days, authorities said Monday, noting that air quality around the facility was testing within normal guidelines. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A plume of smoke rises from a petrochemical fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company, Monday, March 18, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. The large fire at the Houston-area petrochemicals terminal will likely burn for another two days, authorities said Monday, noting that air quality around the facility was testing within normal guidelines. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
People gather to watch as firefighters continue to battle the petrochemical fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company, which grew in size due to a lack of water pressure last night, Tuesday, March 19, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Charlie Tamez and his wife, Dalia Tamez, finish their lunch at Ken's Restaurant, 1122 Center St., as the chemical fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company continues to send dark smoke over Deer Park, Texas, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Firefighters continue to battle the petrochemical fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company, which grew in size due to a lack of water pressure last night Tuesday, March 19, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Golfers practice at the Battleground Golf Course driving range as a chemical fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company continues to send dark smoke over Deer Park, Texas, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP)
