PEABODY —
Firefighters are battling a two-alarm mulch fire off of Farm Avenue in Peabody, the smoke from which forced the closure of several ramps near the busy area where I-95, I-128 and Route 1 intersect.
The north and south ramps from Route 1 to both interstates 95 and 128 — an intersection also know as the “Jughandle” -- were closed “due to reduced visibility from dense smoke,” state police said.
The ramp from Interstate 95 south to Route 1 south was also closed, as was the Interstate 95 southbound ramp to Interstate 128 northbound.
State police re-opened the ramps shortly before 4 p.m.
The fire started in the late morning, but it is not clear how. It’s in the same mulch yard that caught fire in June 2010. That was a four-alarm mulch fire that produced smoke that was visible for miles and also forced the closure of interstate ramps.
The mulch yard is leased to J.D. Raymond Transport Inc. of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, which collects brush and logs and transforms them into mulch and wood chips.
Prior to 2010, the company had operated the mulch yard for eight years without a fire, owner John Raymond told The Salem News then. The Peabody operation stores more than 2,500 cubic feet of mulch at the site.
Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing
Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s
Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students
Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
Mother of Allegedly Abused Girl Denies Claims
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
