A blaze described as the biggest for several years happened in London on Sunday, and more than 200 firefighters are combating it.
Smoke rises from a fire at a recycling center on Chequers Lane in Dagenham, east London, behind the Olympic Park's BMX track on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012. [Photo: BBC News]
London Fire Brigade said in a statement that it was called at about 13:15 local time. And the fire is at a recycling center on in Dagenham, east London. Forty fire engines and more than 200 firefighters are combating it.
The venue is not very far from the Olympic park, where the closing ceremony is due to start tonight. The BBC Weather Center said the wind was likely to take the smoke northwards during the evening, away from the stadium.
London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said: "We have not seen a fire of this size in London for several years, it's certainly a dramatic end to the Olympics for the London Fire Brigade. That said though, we are still able to attend incidents across the capital and the fire cover we are providing at the Olympic venues has not been affected."
"We have got over 200 firefighters from across London working hard under challenging conditions to bring the incident to a close. Fortunately, we've not had any reports of injuries at this stage."
"At this stage we aren't sure how the blaze started as our focus is getting the flames under control. Fire crews will remain at the scene for as long as necessary and a thorough investigation will begin once the fire is out in order to establish how it stated."
