Calgary crews compact soil at ECCO landfill fire to smother deep hotspots

The Calgary Fire Department says suppression and containment operations are continuing at the ECCO Recycling facility fire in southeast Calgary, where crews are placing and compacting soil over targeted areas of the landfill pile to smother deep-seated hotspots, reduce oxygen reaching heated areas and limit smoke production.

Crews remain focused on identifying and treating areas of elevated heat within the landfill pile, using ground assessments, thermal imaging and aerial observations to locate remaining hotspots and guide suppression efforts, according to the City of Calgary.

Heavy equipment brought in

Additional heavy equipment is being brought to the site, including an excavator equipped with a specialized tamping attachment. The equipment will compress soil in selected areas of the pile to help eliminate pockets and gaps where heat, smoke and air can move.

The city says this compaction is expected to improve the effectiveness of suppression efforts and support longer-term containment of remaining hotspots. Additional clean fill material continues to be brought to the site and staged for ongoing operations.

Smoke and flare-ups expected

While progress is being made, crews continue to monitor isolated areas of concern within the landfill pile that have experienced intermittent flare-ups. Residents may continue to observe periods of smoke, steam or localized fire activity as crews expose, assess and suppress remaining heat sources.

The city says these conditions are expected during landfill-fire suppression operations and do not necessarily indicate a deterioration in conditions.

The Calgary Police Service is supporting operations through aerial drone assessments of the site. Information gathered during these flights will assist incident commanders in identifying areas of elevated heat and tracking suppression progress across the landfill pile.

Air quality monitoring continues by Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, in and around the incident area.

The city describes the ECCO landfill fire as a complex, long-duration incident. Extinguishing deep-seated hotspots within the landfill pile will require continued suppression, monitoring and soil-placement operations in the days ahead.

Residents can find the latest information, frequently asked questions and previous updates at Calgary.ca/landfillfire.