A 40,000 tonne waste fire at a Norfolk scrapyard could burn for up to a week, firefighters have said.
Emergency crews were called to the blaze at Bawsey, near King's Lynn, on Monday, which broke out in piles of mixed waste at the yard off the B1145 Gayton Road, near the Sand Boy pub, around 6pm.
Six fire appliances were sent from King's Lynn North, Heacham, Terrington, West Walton and Hunstanton when the alarm was raised at 6.50pm, while a water carrier from Fakenham was also called in.
Crews used main and hose reel jets as flames leapt high into the night sky.
They stayed throughout the night and have spent all of today monitoring the site as it continued to smoulder, advising nearby residents to keep their doors and windows shut.
A statement released by Norfolk Fire and Rescue at around 5pm said crews and other agencies involved - such as West Norfolk council, the Environment Agency and Norfolk Police, 'will continue to monitor the situation and issue advice to the public, businesses and organisations affected as necessary'.
It added; 'NFRS will oversee a controlled burn.
'Due to the quantities of material involved it is difficult to put a definitive time frame on how long this will take, but it's estimated that it could burn for up to a week.
'This will be reviewed as the incident continues. Firefighters will remain on site 24 hours per day during the controlled burn.'
The statement also said that: 'To date no signs of pollution have been observed in the local rivers and ground water. The Environment Agency will continue to attend the site and monitor the environment.'
Dr David Edwards, consultant in health protection, Public Health England East, said: 'Residents in areas affected by the smoke should stay indoors, keep their doors and windows closed, and tune in to the local radio station for advice and information.
'Motorists who have to travel through the smoke should keep windows closed, turn off air conditioning and keep their air vents closed.
'Any smoke can be an irritant and as such, if people need to be outdoors, they are advised to avoid outside areas affected by any smoke or ash, or to limit the time that they spend in them.'
Anyone with health concerns is advised to contact their GP or contact the NHS 111 service out of hours
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