Jill Schramm/MDN Clean up and debris removal continues Tuesday at Earth Recycling following a fire May 18. The company and firefighters also have been monitoring and putting down smoldering embers periodically. The family-owned businesses, located just outside Minot at Fourth Avenue Northwest and the U.S. Highway 83 Bypass, remains closed. No future plan for the business has been decided yet.

The official report of the cause of the recent Earth Recycling fire, as determined by Ken Sisk, chief deputy state fire marshal, is “undetermined.” However, concluded Sisk, a possible cause is “improperly discarded smoking materials.”

The fire broke out about 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 18. Smoke from the large blaze could be seen from virtually anywhere in the city. Earth Recycling is located on Fourth Avenue Northwest near the bypass on Minot’s west side. It is a commercial recycling facility that contained extensive piles of paper, cardboard and other combustibles.

According to the Fire Marshal’s report, witnesses stated the fire started in the area of the loading ramp at the southeast corner of the main building at Earth Recycling. Employee Echo Natschke was alerted to the fire by a customer. Natschke and employee Donald Skalicky attempted to put out the fire with the use of a fire extinguisher and were not able to do so. Skalicky told investigators that the fire spread “very fast.”

Rex Welticol, Minot Rural Fire Department chief, said there was “a delay in calling this one in.” The delay was likely due to the employees’ effort to extinguish the fire themselves. However, due to the amount of combustibles, the fire quickly got out of control. It was at that point that Natschke called 911 for assistance.

“It still flares up every once in a while,” said Welticol. “We were there until 8 p.m. Monday night because of high winds and will do that for quite some time.”

One possible cause of ignition was disputed in Sisk’s report. Near the fire’s origin was a pallet of household items which included mirrors. Sisk said he was “reluctant to state the mirrors as the cause of the fire” and that “weather conditions were not favorable to produce enough heat from sunlight to ignite any combustible materials.”

The Minot Rural Fire Department was assisted in firefighting efforts by units from Surrey, Burlington and Minot Air Force Base.