Firefighters battled a very large outside fire at a bulk material recycling yard near Round Lake for approximately 15 hours Sunday that prompted the closure of Route 120.
The Fox Lake Fire Protection District responded around 10:15 a.m. Sunday to CHDS, located at 25199 West Route 120 in unincorporated Round Lake, for a report of an outside fire.
Fox Lake Fire Chief Ed Lescher told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that responding firefighters spotted a large smoke header in the distance and called for additional assistance.
Fire crews arrived and encountered a very large fire on the corner of Route 120 and Wilson Road.
The fire consisted of mulch, trees and wood pallets, Lescher said.
Firefighters encountered difficulty getting the fire under control and water streams were unable to penetrate the large pile of materials on fire.
Heavy machinery was used to spread out the debris so it could be extinguished, Lescher said.
The incident was eventually upgraded to the second alarm level through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS).
Approximately 16 fire departments responded to the scene. Lescher said crews remained at the fire for 15 hours.
The fire is still smoldering as of Monday and is expected to continue smoldering for at least a week.
CHDS has crews on site spreading out mulch and extinguishing it. The fire department is going back out as needed.
Route 120 was shut down for at least 10-12 hours Sunday while crews worked to get the fire under control.
It is unknown yet how the fire started, Lescher said. No injuries were reported.