Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Officials tour Bella Vista site
EPA to keep evaluating, advise state on putting out fire
BELLA VISTA — State and federal officials Friday toured the site on Trafalgar Road where an underground fire has burned for more than four months, but haven’t decided how best to extinguish it, one of them said.
A cold wind pushed the smoke east as it rose from the ground while the small group roamed the site for about a hour.
The Arkansas Department of Health said Wednesday preliminary results of monitoring near the fire showed air quality in the “unhealthy” category, according to an Arkansas Department of Health news release. Everyone within a half-mile radius of the 8000 block of Trafalgar Road was told to avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.
Matt Loesel of the federal Environmental Protection Agency said testing Thursday and Friday showed no readings in the “unhealthy” category.
Media weren’t allowed onto the site, which is blocked by two red steel gates at Trafalgar Road. A sign that reads “Restricted Area. Keep Out” sits at the entrance.
Loesel said the tour was used to collect ideas about how to put the fire out. Cassi Lapp with the city said some EPA testing showed the fire was burning as hot as 800 degrees in some places.
Fire Department personnel have said the fire may be burning more than 50 or 60 feet underground. Loesel said he didn’t know how big the fire was.
“It’s a case-by-case basis,” he said of fighting underground fires. “You have to find out what’s in it.”
The EPA will continue to evaluate the site and recommend to the state about what could be done to stop the fire, Loesel said. He didn’t have a timeline as to when the agency would be done with its work. Topography will have to considered when deciding what type of equipment needs to be brought in, Loesel said.
A collection system to gather any runoff would be set up if it’s decided huge amounts of water need to be used to extinguish the fire, he said. The area is in the watershed for Lake Ann.
Fire Chief Steve Sims previously 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 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.
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 a Dec. 1 meeting benzene suggests there’s trash in the former dump and not just yard waste.
Fire Department personnel have said the fire may be burning more than 50 or 60 feet underground. Matt Loesel of the federal Environmental Protection Agency said he didn’t know how big the fire was.