WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Neighbors remain on edge as the fire at the Weaver Fertilizer plant continues to burn Wednesday night.
First responders have urged everyone within a one-mile radius of the plant to evacuate, and although it's not mandatory, they're sending a strong message to homeowners in the area.
Homeowners beyond that one-mile radius don't feel safe as the smoke creeps into neighborhoods miles away.
Kimberly Campbell lives in one of those neighborhoods. She has asthma and is concerned for her health.
"I just kept looking to see if I saw anything and yesterday the plume of smoke was further out so it wasn’t too bad and today it’s much closer to the house. So, maybe the winds changed, I don’t know, but I was scared because I have asthma," she said.
Campbell said while she doesn't want to leave her home, she will if the smoke gets any closer. She hasn't gone outside since the fire started and is using rugs to block the cracks in her doors to keep poor-quality air from coming in.
Alanna Harris isn't taking any chances either. She was staying with relatives just outside of the one-mile radius, but that was even too close for comfort.
"It was pretty much in my mother-in-law‘s backyard the smoke was, and it was like the kids can’t go outside and play I have a four and a two-year-old I was like we can’t stay inside all day," she said.
The family packed up and went to stay with family friends in Kernersville.
"The smoke was just.. it was intense and I was like if I can see the air and there’s something in it that’s not OK," Alanna said.
Alanna was most concerned with her children and the impact the air quality could have on them down the road.
"What might it do later to their cells and what might it cause them to feel?" she said.
Now the family is taking it day-by-day, wondering if and when it will be safe for them to return home again.
"Sometimes I don’t worry about the house, but I think of if we do go back is the environment going to be safe for them to live in," Alanna said, "We had neighbors that told us they were evacuating the next morning and she said she got in her car and there was ash and debris all over her car and I was thinking these are toxic chemicals that are in this plant."