Vacant Paper Mill Is On Fire - For The 4th Time Since June

For the fourth time since this summer, an empty paper factory has caught fire.

12/10/2020 9:18 a.m.

In the early morning hours of Thursday, Dec. 10, firefighters received a report of flames at the old Strathmore Paper Mill on Valley View Avenue in Russell.

As of 9 a.m. on Thursday, the fire was still blazing.

This is the fourth time, the old paper mill has caught on fire in just over half a year.

The sprawling, vacant mill complex caught on fire in June. The result was the destruction of building 2. Then there was another fire in July, a third in November, and now a fourth in December.

A suspect, or suspects, related to the fires has yet to be identified. The fires are being investigated by local authorities as well as the State Fire Marshall.

Firefighters have a difficult time battling the Strathmore blazes as the remote area lacks water and available firefighters. Russell is a rural community with a population of under 2,000 people. Firefighters from nearby communities are on scene with water tankers, according to WWLP.

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