Fire burning at garbage dump west of Edmonton

An overnight fire at a landfill west of Edmonton has caused a smoky smell in the city. CTV News Edmonton's Gates Guarin has the story.

A fire was burning at a garbage dump west of Edmonton early Monday morning.

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Flames and an orange glow could be seen around 4 a.m. at GFL Waste Management’s dump off 231 Street NW, east of Acheson.

According to Parkland County Fire Services, the fire in the southwest section of the site – containing construction and demolition waste – was discovered Sunday evening.

The county’s crews left GFL in charge of containing the 3.5-hectare blaze with soil and heavy equipment at midnight.

Around 3:45 a.m., a Westview Village resident heard a loud “kaboom,” which he was later told by firefighters was the fire at GFL.

“We could see the flames going up in the sky, all the smoke coming just over these houses,” Kory Larabie told CTV News Edmonton.

“Parkland County will continue to work with GFL on a time-sensitive fire management strategy to minimize environmental impact, which may include the deployment of private industrial firefighting contractors,” the county told CTV News Edmonton in a statement later Monday morning

No other structures or critical infrastructure are at risk, but residents in surrounding areas were told to expect to see smoke throughout the day.

CTV News Edmonton has reached out to GFL for comment.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Gates Guarin