DETROIT (WWJ) — After burning for more than two days, a fire in a massive pile of mulch on Detroit's westside is now out.
Detroit fire officials on Friday afternoon told WWJ firefighters left the scene of the fire — at the Detroit Mulch Company on Prairie Street, near Lyndon and Livernois — earlier in the morning, as the fire had been declared extinguished.
The fire started around 6 p.m. Tuesday in a pile of wood chips and other materials that was roughly 20 feet high in some spots and spread out over 500 yards.
Firefighters were rotating roughly every three hours as crews continuously battled the blaze. Fire officials said earlier in the week that embers and hot spots were found deep in the mulch, making it more difficult to fight.
While officials are still investigating the cause of the fire, officials have said that spontaneous combustion is known to happen in mulch because it generates heat as it breaks down, according to a report from WDIV.