Firefighters battle a fire at Green Bay Converting on Larsen Road during Blizzard Elsa, March 16, 2026. (Courtesy: Green Bay Metro Fire Department)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Firefighters faced extreme weather putting out a large fire at a Green Bay business Monday winter storms and blizzards continued to rage.
Crews were called to Green Bay Converting at 2200 Larsen Road around 7:45 a.m. Monday. As of 5 p.m., crews continued to battle the fire.
“Engine four, which is that closest initial rig that was sent, they reported heavy black smoke was in the area and once those first arriving at fire crews started getting on scene, they were reporting actual fire shooting out from the roof,” said Lt. Shauna Walesh of the Green Bay Metro Fire Department.
“We’ve had roof collapses in certain areas of the building too where we can’t go inside because it’s so unstable,” Walesh said. “So we’re doing what we call defensive operations right now and just trying to get that fire out.”
The winds not only fueled the fire but also sent smoke and debris miles away.
“We’ve gotten reports that have said that they’re seeing soot and smoke down in, like, east De Pere area, which is wild,” Walesh said. “Just know that there’s a lot of smoke in a lot of areas that it’s traveling with that wind.”
A Public Safety Alert was sent out to cell phones, within a 3/4 mile radius of the fire, about two hours after the initial call. That alert asked people nearby to stay inside.
Residents west of Interstate 41 were experiencing lower than normal water pressure too. According to Green Bay Water, that was because of the massive amount of water being used on the fire at Green Bay Converting.
The Fire Marshal’s Office of the Green Bay Metro Fire Department is investigating the fire to determine a cause.
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