Crews still working on landfill fire

UPDATE: A fire that's been burning since Saturday evening at the Iowa City Landfill is causing an estimated $2 million to $6 million in damage, city public works Director Rick Fosse said Monday.

The fire is expected to burn for several more days, officials have said. On Monday it covered about 7.5 acres of land, though it was confined to the unused portion of the newest landfill cell. A liner system made of shredded tires has sent heavy black smoke into the air since the flames broke out.

“It would be so hard to pinpoint exactly where it started with the material that's burning,” Iowa City Fire Battalion ChiefRyan Greer said. “It's going to take awhile for it to burnout with the depth of the material and what it is. It's going to be virtually impossible to use water to extinguish it.”

Shifting winds are sending that smoke over different sections of the surrounding area, and Johnson County Public Health officials are cautioning those with respiratory and heart conditions to use caution.

The agency is working with the State Hygienic Laboratory to monitor air quality.

Geoff Fruin, assistant to the city manager in Iowa City, said samples were taken Sunday night in Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty. All three areas tested showed normal levels of chemicals expected in smoke. Officials said one sample had levels of two chemicals higher than the other two did, but it was still below standards for long-term occupational exposure.

The city and the health department plan to continue to monitor the air quality as the fire continues, under the advisement of the state Department of Natural Resources.

The fire won't interfere with regular garbage collection, officials said Monday. Residents should follow normal procedures for placing their garbage outside for pickup.

However, landfill operations will be limited to municipal and commercial haulers only, meaning members of the public will not be allowed to drop items off there.

IOWA CITY - Firefighters were still working to contain a fire at the Iowa City landfill on Sunday afternoon after flames jumped a containment line and spread to other parts of the disposal site, city officials said.

The fire started about 6:30 p.m. Saturday in an area of the city-run landfill where garbage had been dumped earlier in the day, the city said. The blaze spread to the landfill's liner system, which includes a drainage layer of shredded tires, and then along the west edge of the landfill before being contained Saturday night to three acres.

A crew used a bulldozer to cut gaps in the layer of tires to contain the fire. The city said the first attempt failed and winds fanned the flames across the gap, but a second attempt was successful until Sunday afternoon. That's when the fire crossed the gap and spread to the remaining liner.

“Little can be done to extinguish the fire. The strategy is to keep it contained and allow it to burn out,” according to a statement from the city. “This process is expected to take a number of days.”

Operations Manager Dave Elias said 7.5 acres of the landfill were involved Sunday afternoon.

The wind near the fire shifted Sunday, sending smoke across populated area of Johnson County. Iowa City officials have contacted the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Johnson County Health Department and its counterpart in downwind Linn County about air-quality issues.

The Johnson County Health Department has cautioned Iowa City residents about the dangers of smoke exposure. It said residents - particularly those with respiratory, heart or other medical conditions, the elderly and the young - should stay inside when smoke is present and turn off outside sources of air.

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