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This weekend, Atlanta faced a lot of trouble. First, it rained for days, and then Hurricane Helene came by with even more rain.
On Sunday, things got worse.
A fire broke out at the BioLab chemical facility in Conyers, Georgia. The fire caused panic and led to evacuations.
Videos of the massive fire quickly spread on social media. People were confused because official guidance was slow to come.
Atlanta’s 11 Alive news spoke with residents who had to leave their homes. Around 17,000 people were evacuated.
Some locals said they could smell burning chlorine. Their eyes were stinging from the chemicals in the air.
One person posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) about being told to stay inside with doors and windows closed. They also had to turn off their air conditioning units:
https://x.com/imtroby/status/1840435592905277675
The smoke from the fire looked unusual. It had strange colors due to burning chemicals.
The exact chemicals burning were unknown at the time.
https://x.com/GAFollowers/status/1840748443016237390
The colorful smoke is expected to linger for days. Even though the fire is out, chemical reactions continue to cause the smoke.
I-20 is closed near the area, and a ‘shelter in place’ order remains active. Businesses are also shut down until it’s safe again.
The sight of the flames was unlike anything seen before in Atlanta.
I was stuck in Atlanta for 24 hours due to flight cancellations from Thursday to Friday. Hurricane Helene had already stressed everyone out after days of rain. This BioLab Fire just added more fuel to the fire of people’s stress.
