Flames break out near Speegleville on Wednesday

A fire blazes at a recycling center in Speegleville, about 10 miles west of downtown Waco. Photo credit: Liesje Powers

By Gavin Pugh | Editor-in-Chief

A fire broke out around 1 p.m. Wednesday at Waco Wood Recycling & Material in Speegleville.

There were no injuries reported when the Lariat arrived on the scene around 2 p.m., but a few people had been treated for smoke inhalation.

According to a Speegleville firefighter at the scene, the fire was at a size that was too difficult to put out immediately.

“There’s probably not enough water in McLennan County to touch this thing right now,” the firefighter said.

Although multiple fire departments from McLennan County were at the scene, including Waco, Lorena and Speegleville, the firefighter was skeptical about their ability to have the flames extinguished by Wednesday night.

“The size of this fire — when the wind dies down tonight — it might be tomorrow morning before we can get this under control,” the firefighter said.

The firefighter said they were mostly focused on keeping the fire contained rather than putting it out immediately.

Waco Wood Recycling & Material is located about 10 miles west of downtown Waco, on the other side of Lake Waco.

Liesje Powers, photo editor, contributed to this report.