Wind-driven brushfire at Baltimore wood recycling yard closes expressway, light rail, schools

BALTIMORE (AP) — Firefighters were battling a massive, wind-driven brushfire at a Baltimore wood recycling yard that closed a section of the expressway into the city’s downtown, the neighboring light rail line and nearby roads and schools on Friday morning.

Crews were called to the Camp Small yard, where large trees and logs are stacked about 30 feet (about nine meters) high, after 5 p.m. Thursday, Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace said at a briefing.

“When they got here, they discovered a rapidly evolving fire that was in a large pile of trees and logs in a large area,” Wallace said. “This stage is just that, lots of trees, logs, stumps and things like that.”

About 100 to 125 firefighters were battling the fire. Wallace said it was a challenge because the flames were fueled by high winds. He said firefighters planned to use heavy equipment to cut a ring around the fire once they had more control.

“It’s very, very difficult for us to get out ahead of it,” Wallace said.

Firefighters gained the upper hand Thursday night, and on Friday morning the fire was contained.

Air quality in parts of the city was in the moderate range on Friday morning because of smoke from the fire. People sensitive to air pollution should consider avoiding outdoor activities, the Maryland Department of the Environment said in a social media post.

Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman John Marsh said the smoke was dying down, allowing officials to reopen Interstate 83, which runs from downtown Baltimore to areas north of the city. Officials announced before 9 a.m. that the northbound and southbound lanes had reopened.

Two nearby high schools were closed Friday, Mayor Brandon Scott said at a briefing. And fireworks were canceled at an annual holiday celebration in downtown Baltimore on Thursday evening.

Marsh said no injuries had been reported even as crews spent all night working to battle the fire, which grew rapidly because of weather conditions and the enormous concentration of dry wood.

The recycling yard is filled with logs, branches and other tree waste that city crews remove from Baltimore streets, sidewalks and parks. Much of the wood is later turned into lumber and mulch or sold to local builders.

“It was the largest bonfire I’ve ever seen in my life,” Marsh said.

He said the cause remains under investigation. Officials haven’t provided a timeline for when the fire could be fully extinguished.

Firefighters respond to a wood fire Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in the Woodberry neighborhood in north Baltimore. (Kenneth K. Lam/The Baltimore Sun via AP)

Firefighters respond to a wood fire Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 in the Woodberry neighborhood in north Baltimore. (Kenneth K. Lam/The Baltimore Sun via AP)

The southbound lanes of I-83 are shut down as a massive fire burns nearby at the Camp Small city wood recycling facility in Baltimore, on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner via AP)

Firefighters carry hose down the Light Rail tracks north of Cold Spring Lane in Baltimore, Md., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner via AP)

Firefighters are on the scene of a brushfire at a Baltimore wood recycling yard late Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (WMAR via AP)

A brushfire burns at a Baltimore wood recycling yard late Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (WMAR via AP)

A brushfire burns at a Baltimore wood recycling yard late Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (WMAR via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thursday was the final day to select an Affordable Care Act health insurance plan across much of the country, as the expiration of federal subsidies drives up health costs and lawmakers remain locked in a debate over how to address the issue.

That's when the open enrollment window ends in most states for plans that start in February. About 10 states that run their own marketplaces have later deadlines, or have extended them to the end of the month to give their residents more time.

The date is a crucial one for millions of small business owners, gig workers, farmers, ranchers and others who don't get their health insurance from a job and therefore rely on marketplace plans. A record 24 million Americans purchased Affordable Care Act health plans last year.

But this year, their decisions over health coverage have been more difficult than usual as clarity over how much it will cost is hard to come by. And so far, enrollment is lagging behind last year's numbers — with about 22.8 million Americans having signed up so far, according to federal data.

Last year, for months, it was unclear whether Congress would allow for the end-of-year expiration of COVID-era expanded subsidies that had offset costs for more than 90% of enrollees. Democrats forced a record-long government shutdown over the issue, but still couldn't get a deal done. So the subsidies expired Jan. 1, leaving the average subsidized enrollee with more than double the monthly premium costs for 2026, according to an analysis from the health care nonprofit KFF.

Still, the question of whether Congress would resurrect the tax credits loomed over Washington. Several enrollees told The Associated Press they have either delayed signing up for coverage or signed up with a plan to cancel as they anxiously watch what's happening on Capitol Hill.

Last week, the House passed a three-year extension of the subsidies after 17 Republicans joined with Democrats against the wishes of Republican leaders. But the Senate rejected a similar bill last year.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, has been leading a bipartisan group of 12 senators trying to devise a compromise and said this week that he expects to have a proposal by the end of the month. The contours of the senators’ bipartisan plan involves a two-year deal that would extend the enhanced subsidies while adding new limits on who can receive them. The proposal would also create the option, in the second year, of a new health savings account that President Donald Trump and Republicans prefer.

Under the deal being discussed, the ACA open enrollment period would be extended to March 1 of this year to allow people more time to figure out their coverage plans after the disruption.

Still, Republicans and Democrats say they have not completed the plan, and the two sides have yet to agree if there should be new limits on whether states can use separate funds for abortion coverage.

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced outlines of a plan he wants Congress to consider that would. It would, among other things, redirect ACA subsidies into health savings accounts that go directly to consumers. Democrats have largely rebuffed this idea as inadequate for offsetting health costs for most people.

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro contributed from Washington.

FILE - Pages from the U.S. Affordable Care Act health insurance website healthcare.gov are seen on a computer screen in New York, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File)