BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Progress is finally visible at a once-iconic Brunswick landmark that was erased by flames earlier this year. Community members recently received an update on the clean-up efforts at the Pinova plant, which was engulfed by fire in April.

Colin Triplett, who works nearby, recalled the harrowing events vividly. “We’ve seen all the smoke and everything,” he said. “It was bad.”

Triplett described the scene: the sky choked with smoke and navigating downtown Brunswick becoming an arduous task as the Pinova Plant went up in flames, leaving an indelible mark on the community.

Triplett remembers seeing the sky full of smoke and having a difficult time getting around parts of downtown Brunswick when the Pinova Plant caught on fire.

“It was horrible,” said Triplett.

Pinova, which produced pine resin, reports more than 200 people worked at the plant before it burned, and each was told it would shut down permanently just a few months later.

The plant has changed owners, and even what it produces, through the years, but it ran almost continuously for more than a hundred years until the fire.

“There was a lot of care and connection to the plant from people around the community,” said Brunswick City Manager Regina McDuffie.

A sign of possibility for the future came during a community meeting to update on the clean-up effort.

“They indicated they can develop along with remediation,” said McDuffie.

McDuffie says there isn’t a timeline or any known plan yet, but she’s hopeful at some point, something will fill the 321 acres just outside downtown Brunswick.

“Very significant in the City of Brunswick,” said McDuffie. “We look forward to tremendous development in that area.”

A consultant for the clean-up effort said more than 270 million pounds of contaminated debris have been taken off the property.

She said water treatment is happening on site at an underground facility.

They’ve finished demolition of all the Hercules and Pinova buildings at this point, which the consultant said is speeding up remediation now that those are out of the way.

She also mentioned if new development moves in, they’ll have to follow new environmental precautions that were put in place since the fire.

“They do have a lot left to do,” said McDuffie.

McDuffie says city leaders will be involved in the zoning process for any plans the property owners eventually come up with.

“Hopefully they put something over there,” said Triplett.

During the community meeting, several folks who live around the plant expressed their concerns about the impact of the plant operations and the fire on their health.

That consultant said they’ve found no known consumption risk in the data they’ve collected so far.