JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. — Investigators are working to figure out how an underground stormwater system caught fire, subsequently causing the parking lot behind the Williamsburg Premium Outlets to collapse.
The fire, which initially broke out Saturday morning, was still active as of Wednesday morning with county officials writing that higher humidity was causing smokier conditions.
"Humidity is expected to drop below 50% this afternoon and conditions should improve," officials wrote in a 9 a.m. update.
Officials said the owner of the property has hired a contractor who is working with firefighters to access to the fire burning under the parking lot.
WATCH: Drone video shows Williamsburg parking lot in ruins after underground fire
Julie Laferriere with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and Joe Gawarzewski with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the underground stormwater system is made up of plastic crates.
They both confirmed those plastic components are what’s actively on fire.
"The stormwater system that's in place here is a best management practice for maintaining or managing stormwater as rain falls in the area, collecting it and slowing the water down,” Laferriere said. “So, things like this are installed throughout the state. That being said, we've never seen an issue similar to this in the past.
James City County Fire Marshal Joe Davis said this is unlike anything he's ever seen in his 40 years on the job.
"The pavement has collapsed on top of the burning material," Davis said. "It's not a safe environment to put our people in, or anyone else in. At this point, concerning the investigation, we have not been able to get into the areas where we'd like to look."
Watch previous coverage: Smoke increasing from underground fire at Williamsburg Premium Outlets
Davis said these stormwater systems are often installed when there is no water around.
"I think it's used if you're limited on space for a, let's say, a normal pond or pond above ground, and if there's not enough space to accommodate that," Davis said.
Davis said about 90% of the parking lot has been damaged.
Environmental experts we spoke to said there are other systems like this throughout the community, but what happened on Saturday was uncommon.
"For large stormwater conveyance areas, they are located throughout complexes, like the outlets. So it is surprising to see a fire, but it's not surprising to see something like this installed," Laferriere and Gawarzewski both explained.
Considering how much of an impact the fire had on the parking lot behind the outlet, we also asked if something like this could happen elsewhere.
"As far as I'm aware, the probability of it happening or being the beginning of something happening frequently, I'm hesitant to think that would be the case," Davis said.
There was still a lot of smoke and small patches of fire have been spotted. This has created an obstacle for crews to evaluate the area. Officials said until they can get into the area, there are still many unknowns.
Davis said they won't be able to tell if the fire was started accidentally or on purpose until crews gain access to portions of the system that have been difficult to reach up to this point.
"Right now, it'd be speculative to say if anything like that has happened," Davis said. "We don't know, not yet."
