Sinclair smoke invades downtown; can still see the keyboard; Fire Department says another shift in wind would help

The wind has shifted, and smoke from the pesky fire at the Sinclair plant just off downtown is blowing smoke into the downtown. It's still possible to see the keys on the keyboard, but the taste of smoke is in the room.

Greg Buelow, Fire Department spokesman, reports that the Sinclair fire is “a nuisance,” and he said firefighters are now dousing it with water to try to extinguish it now that the smoke is drifting over the community.

The plan on Tuesday had been pretty much to let the fire burn itself out because most of the smoke at the old former meatpacking plant, which is slated for demolition, was blowing away from the community, he noted.

Demolition firm D.W. Zinser continues to knock down walls at the former plant to give firefighters a better shot at the fire. Much of the fire is now burning heavy wooden beams. An environmental check found no asbestos where the fire is burning, Buelow said.

"We wish that the wind would help us a little bit," Buelow said.