Just over a year ago, on the evening of Jan. 31, 2022, Wake Forest students on and around North Campus were met with the sight of a yellow-brown chemical haze. As the plume of smoke moved southward and infiltrated campus, reports that the smoke was from an ammonium nitrate-fueled fire at the Winston Weaver Co., a fertilizer plant on North Cherry Street, reached students by Wake Alert .
In the following days, the fear of an explosion affected thousands and made the Weaver Fertilizer Plant fire one of the most notorious on-campus events in recent memory. The fire forced 6,000 Winston-Salem residents, including about 1,000 Wake Forest students and faculty, to evacuate from the one-mile radius surrounding the plant.
In the year since the fire, the event has cemented itself in both Winston-Salem’s and Wake Forest’s history. While the cause of the fire remains undetermined, it has had some obvious effects on the community. In response to the fire, Wake Forest University has pledged a renewed commitment to environmental justice efforts in Winston-Salem.
Additionally, the city of Winston-Salem approved $1 million in relief funds for residents financially impacted by the fire, and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist recently announced that it will conduct a study on the long-term health effects of the blaze.
Update 8:10 p.m., Feb. 1, 2023: The “Winston-Salem’s Response” section of this story has been updated to reflect new information received from Experiment in Self Reliance, Inc.