MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A fire at a power plant near Morgantown was extinguished Monday afternoon after burning for about two hours.
Monongalia County MECCA 911 Director Mike Wolfe said the fire started in a methane tank at the Longview Power Station.
The fire triggered an evacuation of workers at the plant and residents within a one-mile radius as a precaution. No injuries were reported.
Wolfe said firefighters and plant officials were able to cut off the primary methane flow to the tank and the residual gas eventually burned itself out.
Longview is a 695 megawatt coal-fired electricity generating facility in Maidsville, about six miles north of Morgantown along the Monongahela River. It was completed just three years ago and at the time was the largest privately-funded project in the state’s history at a cost of $2 billion. However, last year the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and blamed a contractor for glitches that left it unable to pay its debts.