Raging Fire Destroys Major Manufacturing Plant in Bastrop

A raging fire that burned for over 14 hours at a manufacturing plant in Bastrop destroys a major employer, dealing a heavy economic blow to the town.

Smoke could be seen for miles away, and flames shot up over 100 feet at Southern Plug and Manufacturing, located on Highway 2 in Morehouse Parish on Friday night.

State police, the Department of Environmental Quality, and the State Fire Marshal’s Office were called to investigate the scene. Company officials with Southern Plug estimate the damage to be several millions of dollars.

Bastrop fire officials confirm that the blaze broke out around 10:30 p.m. Friday, and say that a flammable mix of sawdust, glue, and wood within the plant’s production side made the fire impossible to put out at first.

“The worst part is over,” says the general manager, Bob Green. “The blessing is that no one was injured.”

One firefighter remarked that all the water in the parish couldn’t control the flames. A series of low booms could be heard throughout the night, which fire officials believe was caused by the glue and solvents in the plant, which reaches its flashpoint and explodes at a high temperature.

The manager says the fire started in the hydraulic room, which powers the machines. Officials say that about 12 workers who comprise the night shift were on duty at the time, and had to evacuate.

 Southern Plug & Mfg. creates wooden core plugs to 80 percent of all paper mills in the U.S., according to the general manager. Officials say that plugs and wood products are shipped all over the world, from the products that are created locally in Bastrop.

Green says that 70 people are employed at the company. He says that a corporate group is flying into Monroe with a plan to address the customers’ needs.

“We still have something here. We still have part of the equipment and we’re close to being operable. I certainly hope so. It probably won’t be as big unless we expanded in some other area, because we have to get things going in a hurry,” said Green.

Green says Southern Plug & Mfg. has been in business in Bastrop for over 30 years. Previously, the building was used to create farm equipment.

Fire officials say they haven’t determined the cause yet, since the fire is still burning.