The City of Yellowknife estimates it will take three more weeks of firefighters’ work to put out an underground fire that has been burning at the dump for more than two and a half months.
A hot spot was detected amid construction debris on October 30. It grew into an underground fire in early January, making it the longest fire to burn at the dump in Yellowknife’s history.
Around 7,000 square meters of land have burned so far, or 10% of this landfill area.
According to the municipality’s deputy mayor, Garett Cochrane, the fire is “completely contained and manageable.”
Firefighters and private contractors have been deployed and the City is consulting with the Solid Waste Association of North America on how best to handle an underground fire.
Earlier this month, the City confirmed that the blaze was not in an area with hazardous materials. The press release also indicated that water runoff was monitored.
-To date, the deployment of resources has cost the municipality $80,000.
The dump is closed to the public on weekends in January.
With information from Liny Lamberink
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