Officials seek help with underground fire

BELLA VISTA — Officials hope to learn today what can be done to extinguish an underground fire burning for more than four months and polluting the air.

Mayor Peter Christie was notified in a text message from Fire Chief Steve Sims on Thursday state and federal officials and contractors would be at an old stump dump site today to explore options to put out the fire. Heinz Braun with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality said Thursday the federal Environmental Protection Agency would bring in experts today to best determine how to fight the fire. Braun was in Bella Vista on Thursday.

The fire along Trafalgar Road is on a site where the Bella Vista Property Owners Association operated a stump dump for about 13 years. Fire Department personnel have said the fire may be burning more than 50 or 60 feet underground.

Eric Smith, assistant fire marshal with Benton County, said cracks and fissures in the ground allow air to get to an underground fire and keep it smoldering. Benton County doesn’t have jurisdiction in the Bella Vista fire, he said.

Using water to the put out the fire is risky because the area is in the watershed for Lake Ann, Christie said. Letting the fire just burn out probably isn’t feasible, he said.

“That would be a last resort,” Christie said. “I hope there are more creative solutions. The No. 1 priority is to get the fire out. It’s a difficult situation, but the EPA will come up with something. I appreciate their help.”

Mike Richmond is chief of the Engineering Services and

“It’s a difficult situation, but the EPA will come up with something.” — Peter Christie, Bella Vista mayor

Technology Transfer branch of the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in Pittsburgh, Pa.

He said underground coal refuse fires are usually put out by extracting the flammable material, extinguishing it and then regrading the area. An underground fire will burn as long as there’s flammable material available, he said.

“Each specific fire is different because each site is different,” he said of underground fires. “They can be difficult to put out.”

Rogers Fire Chief Tom Jenkins said conventional firefighting methods don’t work against an an underground fire.

“It’s not business as usual when you have that kind of fire,” he said.

The Arkansas Department of Health said Wednesday preliminary results of monitoring near the fire showed air quality in the “unhealthy” category, according to a news release. Everyone within a half-mile radius of the 8000 block of Trafalgar Road should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.

Christopher Nelson, who lives on Harrington Drive near Trafalgar Road, said Thursday he wasn’t surprised the air quality was in the “unhealthy” category on Wednesday.

“It just reaffirmed what I knew,” he said as the smell of smoke hung in the air. “This is not just an air quality problem, it’s a quality of life problem.”

The EPA is doing air quality testing along Trafalgar Road this week. The testing, called particulate matter monitoring, measures the amount of solid and liquid droplets found in the air such as ash, dust and smoke. The amount of particulate matter in the air provides a snapshot of air quality and how it may affect health, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.

Residents are also tracking air quality near Trafalgar Road using a system called PurpleAir. The Health Department said resident-collected data can help support the EPA findings.

Nelson said he, his wife and 4-year-old son have had respiratory problems because of the smoke in the air.

“I’ve got some skin in the game,” he said. “I served in the Army for eight years. You don’t expect something like this to happen in small town Bella Vista.”

Sims said firefighters were initially dispatched to the area July 29, where they spotted smoke and what appeared to be the remains of a brush fire. The property is owned by Brown’s Tree Care. There were no controlled burns listed in the dispatch log, he said, and the property owner denies burning brush.

The EPA collected 24-hour air samples from five locations around the tree care property Oct. 1 and Nov. 10. The agency tested for hundreds of chemicals associated with landfill fires potentially containing construction debris, household waste or tires. None of the air samples showed elevated concentrations of chemicals of concern in the community, according to the EPA.

The EPA also collected samples from the property and found a low level of benzene Nov. 10, according to an EPA release. The American Cancer Society says benzene is a colorless, flammable liquid with a sweet odor and it evaporates quickly when exposed to air. The chemical is a natural part of crude oil and gasoline, as well as detergents, drugs and pesticides.

Stuart Spencer, associate director of the office of air quality at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, told residents at Dec. 1 meeting benzene suggests there’s trash in the former dump and not just yard waste.

Curtis and Tiffany Macomber, who live near the dump site, sued Brown’s Tree Care and John Does 1-3 in connection with the fire. The lawsuit was filed in Benton County Circuit Court. It claims continued smoke from the site has created a hazardous situation for the Macombers and their children. The case is assigned to Benton County Circuit Judge Xollie Duncan. Brown Tree Service hasn’t filed a response to the lawsuit.