Officials to begin 'stir, burn and cover' operation at Iowa City landfill fire

The Iowa City Fire Department is preparing a new effort to extinguish the fire that has been burning at the Iowa City landfill for 10 days.

A release from the city said current site and weather conditions will allow the department to prepare for a “stir, burn and cover” method, which involves using machinery to stir the burning tires to speed up the burning of the fire's fuel sources. After stirring, a layer of clay is used to cover the tires and suppress burning further.

Those efforts are expected to begin Monday afternoon, and will likely take a full week of 12-hour days to complete.

Officials said people should expect to see larger smoke plumes as a result, and their extinguishing efforts will rely heavily upon weather and wind conditions, so as to avoid pushing heavy smoke into populated areas.

The department has been in contact with Environmental Restoration LLC of St. Louis, Mo., regarding the strategy for several days, the release said. Connolly Construction, the contractor who built the affected cell, has also been on scene since the fire started to aid with containment operations.

The city is also working to contain runoff from the burning tires. The runoff is being captured and stored on-site at the landfill. Though some has entered the sanitary sewer system, the release said that oil has been recovered and returned to the Landfill.

City staff is expected to present a fire update to the Iowa City Council at the council's Tuesday night meeting.

Here's the news release from the city, updating the situation with the landfill fire:

The City of Iowa City has issued the following update on the ongoing fire at the Iowa City Landfill, which started Saturday, May 26th.

The City reiterates the health precautions previously issued by the Johnson County Health Department regarding smoke that is resulting from the fire:

Persons in the path of the smoke plume should avoid exposure to the smoke as much as possible. Persons who have respiratory, heart or other conditions which may be aggravated by smoke, pregnant women, and the young and elderly should shelter in places with outside sources of air shut off. Most home air conditioning units recirculate air from the interior and should be sufficient. Businesses and other structures which draw in outside air should close outside air sources if the smoke plume is present. Avoid outdoor activities such as exercising if the smoke plume is present. Nursing homes, day cares and other businesses which care for the elderly, very young, and persons with respiratory diseases should take special care to monitor the health of clients and to minimize exposure to the smoke plume. Concentration (increase and decrease) of particulate matter and other irritants in the smoke are greatly affected by weather conditions. Individuals are the best judges of their own health and should take appropriate protective measures based on their health status.

The Johnson County Health Department continues to partner with the State Hygienic Laboratory, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and experts with the University of Iowa to monitor air quality throughout the region. Officials with the United States Environmental Protection Agency have also been involved and have actively worked with local and state officials on issues related to air quality. Any future changes in the precautions and recommendations will be immediately communicated to the public.

Current site and weather conditions are allowing the Iowa City Fire Department to make preparations for a "stir, burn and cover" operation to safely and responsibly extinguish the fire. The strategy involves using heavy machinery to stir the piles of burning tires to accelerate the consumption of remaining fuel sources. After the acceleration of the burning has completed, a layer of clay soil will be placed over the tires to further suppress the burning.

To safely implement this extinguishment strategy, the City has contracted with Environmental Restoration LLC, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Environmental Restoration has extensive emergency response experience, and has been consulting with the Iowa City Fire Department on this strategy over the last several days. Also assisting in this effort will be Connolly Construction of Peosta, Iowa. Connolly Construction has been onsite since the fire commenced, assisting with containment operations. As the contractor who originally constructed the Landfill cell, Connolly Construction has in-depth knowledge of the design and layout of the Landfill property.

Contractors are currently mobilizing onsite and expect to begin operations this afternoon. It is anticipated that these efforts will involve twelve-hour days and may take a week to fully execute. The public should expect to see larger smoke plumes throughout this period. Due to the increased smoke plumes, operations will be dependent on weather and wind conditions. Work in the Landfill cell will be temporarily discontinued if winds are expected to push the smoke plume over heavily populated areas of the county.

After the ground cover is applied, it is likely that the tires will continue to smolder below the surface for several days or weeks, which can lead to periodic flare-ups on the surface. City staff will be monitoring these conditions closely and will be prepared to promptly react to these situations. Updates on the progress of the extinguishment strategy will be provided to the public periodically throughout the week.

City officials also remain focused on containment of the runoff created by the burning tires. As the tires burn, they produce an oil-based liquid that is being captured in the Landfill's leachate collection system. This runoff is being contained and temporarily stored on-site at the Landfill. Some of the oil has entered the sanitary sewer system with other Landfill leachate that is routinely pumped to the sanitary sewer system. This oil has been isolated and recovered at the Napoleon Park sanitary sewer lift station and returned to the on-site storage at the Landfill. Over the last week, the City has been working with state officials to conduct material testing in order to safely transport the oil-based runoff to an external facility that is properly equipped to process or recycle the liquid. It is expected that material transport from the Landfill site will begin late this afternoon or early tomorrow morning. This process may take several days, as the fire has already produced approximately 150,000 gallons of oil-based runoff.

Iowa City staff will be providing the City Council with an update on the fire at their regular formal meeting on Tuesday, June 5th at 7:00 p.m. at Emma Harvat Hall, 410 E. Washington Street, Iowa City. Interested persons can attend the meeting or watch the broadcast live on City Channel 4. In the days following the Council meeting, the presentation will be available on-demand through City Channel 5 or online at http://citychannel4.com.

More information on the status of the fire is available on the City's website at www.icgov.org, including a continually updated Frequently Asked Questions section and copies of media releases. The public can also track the event on Facebook by linking through the City's website or searching for Iowa City Landfill Fire. Updates are also available on City Channels 4 and 5.