Winston-Salem urges residents near blazing fertilizer plant to evacuate due to possible explosion

Thousands of people living near an uncontrolled fire at a North Carolina fertilizer plant were being urged to evacuate Tuesday as firefighters warned that chemicals at the site could cause a large explosion.

Authorities drove through neighborhoods and knocked on doors asking residents to leave within a one-mile radius of the Winston Weaver Company fertilizer plant on the northside of Winston-Salem, where the fire started Monday night. The evacuation area included about 6,500 people in 2,500 homes, the Winston-Salem Fire Department said.

"We want to make sure that right now we're evacuating everybody in this one-mile radius," Winston-Salem Battalion Chief Patrick Grubbs told reporters early Tuesday.