Grundy County Seeks Information From Residents Who Were Evacuated Due To Industrial Fire In Morris

MORRIS, Ill. (CBS) -- Grundy County wants to hear from the people who had to leave their homes because of an industrial fire in Morris recently.

A week ago Tuesday, a building caught fire with up to 200,000 pounds of lithium ion batteries inside.

The smoke was potentially dangerous, so homes in the area were evacuated.

The burning batteries were smothered with 28 tons of cement. Firefighters resorted to the unconventional and possibly unprecedented tactic because using water or firefighting foam could have caused the batteries to explode.

On Friday, officials in Morris said enough progress had been made in battling an industrial fire to allow those thousands of residents who were evacuated three days earlier to return home.

Now, Grundy County officials want those residents to fill out an impact survey on the county website, so they know how many people were affected, and how badly.