When the Medline distribution center in Tracy went up in flames on Wednesday, the fire didn’t just destroy a 1 million-square-foot warehouse. It scattered hazardous debris across an entire region, leaving residents scrambling to figure out what’s lurking in their yards.
The scale of the problem hit home for families in Tracy Hills and surrounding neighborhoods when they woke to find black, foam-like material coating their properties—yards, sidewalks, landscaping, all of it covered. Resident Gilbert Coronado described it plainly:“It was pretty bad. It was covered from the street up to here.”But here’s where the mess becomes genuinely concerning: nobody knows exactly what that debris is, where it came from inside the facility, or how dangerous it might be.
Fire officials have confirmed that hazardous materials were stored inside the warehouse. The facility also housed lithium-ion battery-powered robots used to move products, adding another layer of complexity. At the height of the fire, intense heat and wind carried burning material miles away, transforming some metals into more dangerous forms through oxidation. As Michael Kleeman, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis, explained, industrial fires create a different problem than wildfires:“It’s producing things that contain trace metals and the byproducts of burning plastics and lots of other things that are potentially toxic.”
The danger isn’t always immediate. Some effects might not show up for years.“That increased cancer risk later on can really be damaging later,”Kleeman noted. For parents like Anu Bolli, the uncertainty has meant keeping kids indoors since the fire.“From yesterday till now, I didn’t send my kids outside,”she said.
San Joaquin County officials are taking the threat seriously. Kia Xiong, with the San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services, was direct with residents:“If they see any debris from the Medline fire, they are not to touch it. Don’t move it. Don’t collect it.”The county is now coordinating with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control to test debris and develop a cleanup plan. A reporting system has been set up so residents can identify locations where debris has been found.
For now, the waiting game continues. Until testing is complete, residents are asked to avoid handling anything suspicious and report it instead. It’s a stark reminder that sometimes the most dangerous part of a disaster isn’t the fire itself—it’s everything it leaves behind.
About the Author
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.
