Fire crews are continuing work on a “mountain of garbage” in southeast Calgary as a stubborn landfill blaze burns for an 11th day.
Fire and city officials gave reporters a tour of the burn site at Ecco Recycling on Wednesday afternoon, the day after officials said the fire had been declared under control.
“This is literally a mountain of garbage with deep pockets of active fire,” Calgary Fire Chief Steve Dongworth said.
“The steep, mountainous face of this fire makes access for crews and trucks particularly challenging.”
The fire, which has been burning since Sept. 6, is now the size of eight Canadian Football League fields, fire officials say.
Early fire efforts included dumping millions of gallons of water on the blaze, but now crews are focusing on smothering the rest of the fire with dirt.
That follows best industry practices for controlling smoke, according to the fire department, as well as extinguishing deep-seated landfill fires and preventing re-ignition.
But still, landfill fires can burn for long periods of time beneath the surface and fire crews are prioritizing actions that will reduce the smoke impact on neighbouring communities.
“We should be able to control smoke from the fire in the next few days, (but) this incident could last weeks or even months until onsite fire risk is fully mitigated,” Dongworth said.
On Sept. 11, the Calgary Fire Department issued a health advisory in connection with the smoke from the fire.
A provincial air quality lab is on site monitoring air quality. Current lab results show the smoke is one fine particulate matter above what is deemed safe by provincial guidelines.
The greatest risk for smoke exposure comes for those living in the communities of Douglasdale, Quarry Park, East Shepard, McKenzie Towne, New Brighton, Copperfield and other neighbouring communities.
Residents affected by smoke are encouraged to limit outdoor activity, keep windows and doors closed when smoke is present and to contact Health Link by dialing 811 if they have concerns about smoke-related health effects.
