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Charlotte Amalie
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
HomeNewsLocal news11th Fire in 12 months Sparks up at Anguilla Landfill

11th Fire in 12 months Sparks up at Anguilla Landfill

A fire was observed in the scrap metals section of Anguilla Landfill and reported to the Fire Service around 2:36 p.m. Monday afternoon. Landfill operations have not been affected, but the scrap metal section is closed until further notice, according to a release from the Waste Management Authority.

Staff and contractors reported metals, including junked cars, were being processed for removal when a vehicle ignited causing the fire which quickly spread in the metal section. The Fire Service and Waste Management are working together to put out the fire.

A release from the Waste Management Authority reminds the residents of St. Croix to remove all engine fluids before disposal, preventing accidental fires and protecting the environment from spills. The release does not indicate if this is known to be the cause of the fire.

This is at least the 11th fire at the St. Croix landfill in the past 12 months and the sixth since the year began. (See here, here, here, here and here for links to stories on some of those fires.) Smoke from a fire in January impacted St. Croix’s airport. There was a fire in October 2019. A fire on July 7, 2019 burned for several days.

On July 2, 2019, Waste Management reported that a fire that began burning on June 30 in the scrap metal area had been contained and was smoldering, but under control.

The agency announced on June 25, 2019, that a fire that had been burning since June 17 had finally been controlled. That nine-week fire caused extensive damage.

There have been a number of fires at the landfill over the years. It caught fire three times in 2018.

There was a fire at Anguilla in 2012. And a fire burned for many years at the dump until extinguished in 2009 at a cost of more than $3.9 million.

In 2008, Waste Management officials said that fire had been burning underground since around 1966 or 1967. Other, separate fires were reported at times during the intervening years.

Under the terms of a nine-year-old settlement agreement, Anguilla was supposed to close on Sept. 30, 2018. The Waste Management Authority hired Oasis Consulting to design a closure process for Anguilla and to help pick, and open, a new site in the near future.

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