Upson County residents evacuated from homes because of toxic fumes

THOMASTON - As many as 50 Upson County residents were evacuated from their homes after officials discovered toxic fumes coming from an underground tire fire. <br> <br> Upson County Manager Greg Nossett said officials from the state Environmental Protection Division and the federal Environmental Protection Agency were on hand Wednesday to further assess the situation that developed Tuesday. <br> <br> Nossett said residents were given the choice of being put up free of charge at a local hotel or staying in their homes. <br> <br> But resident Alton Cook said officials didn&#39;t give his family a choice -- they had to vacate their home indefinitely. <br> <br> Cook said, ``They told us we didn&#39;t have no choice. They were going to close the road, and we couldn&#39;t get back to our house. They didn&#39;t know how long it would take to fix the problem.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Cook said he has noticed the smell of burning rubber coming from behind a tire disposal site near his home for several days. He was concerned after officials told him the site could be dangerous. <br> <br> Cook said officials told him it could explode, because they didn&#39;t know what was buried with the tires. <br> <br> Nossett said the fire started underground last week in an area where more than 20,000 tires are buried in rural west Upson County. He said the ground is too shaky for firefighters to go in and fight the blaze, which can&#39;t be seen from the surface. <br> <br> Nossett said a former resident buried between 20,000 and 30,000 tires underground behind his property in the early 1990s. Nossett said he had a permit from the state to legally bury the tires on his property.