VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) -- Crews in Virginia Beach responded to a large mulch fire around 12:30 Saturday afternoon, dispatch told 13News Now.
Dispatch said the fire was in the 1300 block of Taylor Farm Road.
More than 10 firefighting crews showed up to the fire, including NAS Oceana.
No one was hurt by the fire, but crews said the wind was making the very flammable material even harder to control, and the surrounding community was concerned.
“We’ve had fire units going all over the city chasing fires that weren't’t there. It’s just the smoke this fire. So we need to get this thing out so I can put an end to all of that too it’s tying up a lot of our resources,” said Virginia Beach Fire, Division Cief William Skelaney.
"You can smell it all of the way up near Virginia Beach boulevard," said Kent Weidlich.
Weidlich said the fire is at KW1, a mulch and debris company he knows well.
"We use to dump at this facility a lot." He said, "this place has caught fire multiple times."
Chief Skelaney said, "all I can say is we've been here before."
Neighboring businesses told us the smoke affects their businesses. "I know some of the planes actually at Oceana have been detouring around it," said Weidlich.
"Kind of scary you know it might...come over and catch something else on fire," said Jack Padgett who works down the street form the fire.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. However, Virginia Beach Fire department said the flames started on the surface and made their way to the pile of mulch.
