Smoke from the fire could be seen more than 25 miles away in Hartford. Dozens of fire departments from New London, Windham and Hartford counties responded to the blaze at M&J Recycling and the M&J Bus company on Route 85 is near the Salem line.
Colchester First Selectman Linda Hodge said the fire was in the recycling area of the property, which contains numerous scrapped vehicles.
Fire officials said there were about 100,000 gallons of gasoline mixed with diesel fuel at the site. Hassett said tires at the scene could be smoldering for a couple days.
Afternoon kindergarten in Colchester was canceled because of the fire and a section of Route 85 near the scene was closed to traffic.
