• Longview tank implosion: Here's what we know
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    Longview tank implosion: Here’s what we know

    May 30, 2026 - By 

    A chemical tank imploded at a paper mill on May 26, killing multiple employees. Here is what you need to know about the deadly industrial incident: LONGVIEW, Wash. — A deadly tank implosion at a paper mill on May 26 has left the Longview community in mourning, as crews are still working to recover all of the victims. The industrial accident happened around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday during a shift change at the Nippon Dynawave mill, according to Scott Goldstein, fire chief for Cowlitz Fire and Rescue. The implosion damaged administrative offices, a break room, and operational areas inside the facility.…

  • Friends identify another victim in Longview chemical tank failure: 'One of the most selfless individuals you’ll ever meet'
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    Friends identify another victim in Longview chemical tank failure: ‘One of the most selfless individuals you’ll ever meet’

    May 29, 2026 - By 

    Braydon Finkas was identified as one of the original nine people missing at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company after the deadly chemical tank rupture Tuesday. LONGVIEW, Wash. — As the days go by, the names of more victims of Tuesday’s deadly chemical tank rupture continue to circulate on social media, along with more fundraisers to try and help those victims’ families in the only way many know how. One of those victims has been identified by friends as 37-year-old Braydon Finkas. Javier Sanchez was friends with Finkas, who lived in Cathlamet. On Thursday, Sanchez described Finkas as “one of the…

  • Longview bar to host fundraiser for victims' families after tank implosion
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    Longview bar to host fundraiser for victims’ families after tank implosion

    May 29, 2026 - By 

    Shamrock Bar and Grill in Longview is donating 20% of sales to victims’ families on Sunday, June 7. LONGVIEW, Wash. — Linsay Mayeda-Rodman greets mill workers at the Shamrock Bar and Grill in Longview the way she always has, with hugs and jokes. But this week, the bar’s co-owner is grieving with them. She is also one of them. Mayeda-Rodman has been a paper mill worker for 10 years. “You go to work every day and plan to go home. You don’t think about the possibility at a paper mill… but any blue-collar job there are chances of something happening,”…

  • Video shows devastation, crushed cars after deadly chemical tank implosion at Washington paper mill
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    Video shows devastation, crushed cars after deadly chemical tank implosion at Washington paper mill

    May 28, 2026 - By 

    New video shows the sheer amount of devastation after a tank holding corrosive white liquor imploded at a paper mill in Longview, Washington. WASHINGTON — New video is showing the aftermath of a deadly implosion at a Washington state paper mill that is presumed to have killed 11 people and injured another eight. Crews resumed the search Wednesday for nine workers at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. in Longview, although authorities have already said there is no hope of finding survivors. If the 11 deaths are confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest industrial accidents in the U.S. in…

  • Family seeks answers after dad's death in Nippon Dynawave facility chemical tank rupture
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    Family seeks answers after dad’s death in Nippon Dynawave facility chemical tank rupture

    May 28, 2026 - By 

    The Longview community is still reeling after the deadly incident at the paper mill Tuesday, including Gilbert Bernal’s family. LONGVIEW, Wash. — The family of Gilbert Bernal is mourning their father, grandfather and husband, who died following the deadly chemical tank failure at the Nippon Dynawave facility early Tuesday morning. His son, Eli, recalls how the family learned of the news: “My mom got a call from somebody advising her that they had somebody, potentially that could be my father.” This story continues below. Eli said he was too afraid to call his father’s phone, in fear…

  • A tank holding 900,000 gallons of corrosive chemicals imploded. Experts say something went very wrong
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    A tank holding 900,000 gallons of corrosive chemicals imploded. Experts say something went very wrong

    May 28, 2026 - By 

    Experts say implosions of this kind are extremely rare – and do not happen by themselves. The KING 5 Investigators looked into what went wrong. LONGVIEW, Wash. — A massive industrial tank at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging paper mill partially imploded Tuesday, killing at least two workers and releasing hundreds of gallons of a caustic chemical capable of dissolving skin on contact. The facility uses the tanks to turn wood chips into paper products – a process that relies on powerful, highly corrosive chemicals kept under precise conditions. The tank held “white liquor,” a mixture of chemicals used to break…

  • Contamination reached Columbia River after Longview tank rupture, officials say
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    Contamination reached Columbia River after Longview tank rupture, officials say

    May 28, 2026 - By 

    Water samples taken overnight confirmed that chemicals leaked into the river when a 900,000-gallon tank containing caustic “white liquor” ruptured. LONGVIEW, Wash. — The Columbia River was contaminated by chemicals from the tank rupture at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview, officials confirmed Wednesday. The extent of the contamination is unknown. Water samples taken overnight confirmed that chemicals leaked into the river when a 900,000-gallon tank of “white liquor” ruptured, with an estimated 25,000 gallons of the highly caustic solution still inside, officials said at a Wednesday briefing. Officials estimated that the tank was about 60% full at the…

  • U.S. Chemical Safety Board to investigate fatal tank implosion at Longview paper mill
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    U.S. Chemical Safety Board to investigate fatal tank implosion at Longview paper mill

    May 27, 2026 - By 

    The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said a team of investigators would arrive at the paper mill Wednesday. The implosion involved white liquor, a highly corrosive chemical used in paper and pulp processing to dissolve wood chips into pulp. Officials said a 900,000-gallon tank storing the substance ruptured with 90,000 gallons of the chemical still inside. Previously, officials said the tank held only 80,000 gallons. This story continues below. “The CSB is opening an investigation into this tragic incident to determine how it happened and what can be done to prevent something like this from…

  • California chemical tank threat not over yet for 16,000 people still under evacuation orders
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    California chemical tank threat not over yet for 16,000 people still under evacuation orders

    May 27, 2026 - By 

    Exposure to methyl methacrylate, a highly flammable chemical used to make plastics, can cause serious respiratory and neurological problems. GARDEN GROVE, Calif. — About 16,000 people remain under evacuation orders in Southern California as an overheated chemical tank still poses a risk to homes closest to the site, and officials Tuesday gave no word on when they might be able to return home. The crisis forced 50,000 people to evacuate in and around the Orange County city of Garden Grove last week. A crack that formed by chance on the tank relieved pressure and helped avert a catastrophic explosion, allowing…

  • Threat of catastrophic explosion from damaged chemical tank in California is gone, officials say
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    Threat of catastrophic explosion from damaged chemical tank in California is gone, officials say

    May 25, 2026 - By 

    No injuries have been reported, but more than 50,000 residents were under an evacuation order over the Memorial Day weekend. GARDEN GROVE, Calif. — The risk of a catastrophic explosion of a damaged chemical tank in Southern California has been eliminated following a close overnight inspection that confirmed a crack in the tank relieved pressure and cooled the chemical, authorities said Monday. Officials said crews conducted tank temperature checks at night to reduce risks to firefighters, avoiding daytime operations when heat from the tank made conditions around it most dangerous. The overnight mission allowed crews to verify the crack and…