Wis DNR to help clean up butter spill from Columbia Co. fire

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources started to help clean up the remnants of butter left after a fire started at a dairy facility Monday in Columbia County.

Twenty gallons of butter melted into the canal next to the Associated Milk Producers, Inc. (AMPI) facility in Portage from the fire, according to DNR officials. Since then, staff has placed absorbent booms into the canal to collect the butter.

DNR staff said the butter in the canal has been cleared since the fire.

Officials said fire crew’s water usage during the fire cleared out storm sewers.

However, most of the butter that left the AMPI facility during the fire went to a wastewater treatment plant, where workers have been clearing butter out since. DNR said the treatment plant is working through the cleanup but expects some temporary exceedances.

The DNR said so far, the fire has minimally impacted the environment, and investigations are ongoing into the cause of the fire.

Click here to download the NBC15 News app or our NBC15 First Alert weather app.