🔥 For 55 days, until the federal government took over the landfill fire outside of Birmingham, there was a near-constant state of confusion over who was — or who should've been — in charge of fighting the fire, and who would pay to put it out. Inside:
As the fire raged on, nearby residents breathed in unhealthy levels of toxic smoke, which we now know contained harmful levels of chemicals, both natural and manmade. Their calls for help from state, local and federal officials went nowhere.When the fire was first reported, the immediate concern was to keep it from spreading onto nearby homes and properties.
“The Alabama Forestry Commission doesn’t fight fires in the same manner that a structural firefighter battling a house fire would do,” Oates said. “Our role in fighting fire is to contain that fire. We basically remove the fuel source by plowing firebreaks around the fire and prevent the fire from spreading.That tactic can be successful on forest fires, but blazes in a 150-foot deep landfill near residential neighborhoods are a different story.
Residents near the fire site began to complain of smoke-related illnesses, including difficulty breathing, coughing, and red, itchy eyes. They grew increasingly disappointed in the lack of help from state and local governments. Robin Andrews, of the nearby Carrington Lakes subdivision sealed her windows and doors with painters’ tape to keep the smoke out and added a Shark brand air purifier in her home. She said before she taped off her windows, and she sometimes had to cover her face to get to sleep at night.
They were looking for help. The resolution urged Gov. Kay Ivey to declare a state of emergency and asked the state or federal government for help in putting out the fire, a job Batemon said could cost about $2 million. On Jan. 10, the St. Clair County Commission said that it had requested bids from contractors to put out the blaze and was considering five or six different options. Mulkey and St. Clair County Engineer Dan Dahlke led that process.
LeFleur said in a separate release that EPA was in the best position to extinguish the fire since it had contractors on retainer with experience handling this kind of fire.Contractors working for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency work to put out a fire at an Alabama landfill on Wed., Feb. 1, 2023.But why did it take so long? Many criticized ADEM and the state for not reaching out to the EPA sooner.
The EPA took air samples on Jan. 6 and found harmful chemicals in the smoke, including known carcinogens and man-made chemicals not typically present in forest fires. On. Feb. 15, ADEM released a strongly worded statement criticizing Cahaba Riverkeeper for publishing those results, arguing that since PFAS chemicals are widely present in the environment the sampling was unnecessary.
LeFleur had previously said there was “no reason to believe” that there was anything in the waste pile other than non-regulated green waste.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Strong storms possible today and Friday in AlabamaSouth Alabama is facing yet another chance for isolated severe storms today, according to forecasters. And there could be yet another round of storms to come by the end of the workweek.
Read more »
UPDATE: Three Tornadoes Hit Central, East Alabama Sunday and Monday - Alabama NewsNational Weather Service survey teams have confirmed that three tornadoes hit our part of the state during the severe weather outbreak on Sunday and Monday. alnews alwx prattville lakemartin wakanews
Read more »
Montgomery Public Schools, Two Other Alabama School Systems Suing Large Social Media Companies - Alabama NewsMontgomery Public Schools is one of three Alabama school systems filing a lawsuit against some of the world's largest social media companies. alnews montgomeryal wakanews
Read more »
40th Alabama State Games begin June 9thThe 40th Alabama State Games are set for June 9th through the 11th.
Read more »
Alabama basketball lands transfer guard with high school ties to stateJaykwon Walton, a 6-foot-7 guard from Wichita State, announced his transfer to the Crimson Tide men’s basketball team on Tuesday.
Read more »
Belarus state TV declares 'nuclear state,' threatens two NATO countriesPutin has announced that Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, its close ally.
Read more »