Residents evacuated near burning Georgia chemical plant

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Authorities evacuated neighborhoods Monday near a chemical plant where a large fire was burning in coastal Georgia.

Smoke hazards and a risk of explosions prompted officials Monday morning to order people to evacuate three neighborhoods within a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) radius of the Symrise chemical plant, Glynn County government spokesperson Katie Baasen said. People within a 3-mile (5-kilometer) radius were being told to shelter in place.

The fire sent a thick plume of smoke rising into the air from the plant located outside the port city of Brunswick, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) south of Savannah.

The fire had been contained and was expected to burn itself out, Baasen said in an email message to The Associated Press. She said hazards from the smoke posed the largest concern, though there was also a potential the fire could cause explosions.