Fire officials say a stubborn blaze burning in a former recycling landfill in southeast Calgary is now under control, but hot spots and air quality concerns persist. The update on the Ecco Recycling fire came from the Calgary Fire Department on Tuesday afternoon. “This does not mean the fire is out, but the strategies, tactics and resources assigned continue to make positive progress,” said public information officer Alex Kwan in a news release. The affected area of the fire covers about 43,000 square metres — the equivalent of eight CFL football fields — which has made for a “large and complex” fight against the blaze. The fire began on Sept. 6, when a fire broke out in one of the piles of garbage at the facility, located on 24 Street S.E. The blaze was initially extinguished, but has since flared up and continues to burn, causing area residents to complain about the smoke coming from the fire. Kwan says the current goal is to smother the remaining fire with dirt, and that fire crews estimate suppression efforts require 6,000 cubic metres of soil. Fire crews will also apply water to hot spots and spot fires, Kwan said, and water runoff is being monitored and collected to keep stormwater systems safe. The announcement from CFD comes on the heels of Calgary’s mayor saying he is pleased with the response from Alberta’s environment minister to the blaze. Speaking to CTV Your Morning Calgary on Tuesday, Farkas said he’s been working closely with the province since the problem was identified at Ecco Recycling. “The provincial ministry has been very closed engaged with us and strongly supporting our emergency response, so we’re united in looking at if the rules in place are appropriate,” Farkas said. “If rules are found to have been violated, we want to make sure that there is due process, that there is an adequate investigation around that.” Alberta Environment Minister Grant Hunter issued a statement Monday afternoon, saying protecting the health and safety of Albertans is the “top priority” of the government. He said that his ministry has reviewed the available data and determined there is a low overall risk to health. Officials say the air quality is being monitored continuously and analyzed for all materials such as fine and coarse particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen oxides, ozone, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and total reduced sulphur, total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, methane and non-methane hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and ammonia. In the meantime, Hunter said his office will continue to work with the city. “(We) will coordinate with the City of Calgary to investigate whether any materials not permitted under the facility’s environmental authorization(s) were present at the landfill or storage site,” he said. “The Class III landfill is authorized to accept inert waste only, and hazardous waste is prohibited at the storage site. If evidence emerges, including through the fire investigation, that prohibited materials were present at either location, Environment and Protected Areas may undertake an investigation under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act.” Farkas also thanked the tireless efforts of the Calgary Fire Department in battling the blaze. “They have been working around the clock, heroically, to get this contained.”
