A major firefighting operation at a Ryde scrapyard has finally come to an end, with Smallbrooke Lane now reopened to all traffic.
The blaze involving 8 shipping containers, which began on Wednesday morning, is thought to be the most protracted fire service operation on the Isle of Wight in more than 15 years, lasting in excess of 34 hours.
At least 9 different fire stations were involved over the course of the incident, with crews from across the Isle of Wight and from the mainland drafted in to support the lengthy response.
Throughout Thursday, firefighters remained on site monitoring and cooling the shipping containers, utilising 6 monitoring jets.
As the evening progressed, smoke once again billowed into the sky, sending an acrid smell across the Haylands and Binstead communities, prompting Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) to ask residents to close windows and doors.
HIWFRS has not confirmed what materials inside the containers required such an extensive cooling operation, nor has it commented on the cause of the fire.
A 200m exclusion zone is commonly implemented when acetylene gas cylinders are involved in a fire due to the risk of delayed explosion following heating.
Smallbrooke Lane remained closed in both directions for more than 2 days, before the road reopened at around 07:30 this morning.
