Calgary landfill fire contained as crews cap site and updates go weekly

The Calgary Fire Department says the ECCO Recycling facility landfill fire in southeast Calgary remains contained to the landfill site as crews keep working toward full extinguishment. In an update published Sept. 24, the department said capping operations, monitoring and site rehabilitation will continue until the fire risk has been fully mitigated.

Crews continued capping operations today by removing debris, flattening affected areas and spreading additional dirt and clay across the site. The department said the work helps isolate remaining heat sources and support extinguishment efforts, and that crews are observing reduced visible smoke from portions of the site.

New drone footage captured over the site today provided an updated aerial view of conditions, helping inform planning and ongoing capping operations. An engineering consultant also attended the site to assess conditions and provide technical expertise in support of incident management and recovery planning.

As the incident enters a longer-term phase, incident management is transitioning to a remote command model. The department said CFD will continue to monitor site conditions, coordinate suppression activities and support ongoing work at the site.

Information provided to CFD by Alberta Health Services indicates that recent air quality monitoring has not identified any new exceedances at monitoring locations supporting the incident response. Alberta Health Services notes that air quality can vary significantly over short distances due to wind patterns, terrain and local conditions, with the greatest potential for impacts occurring in areas directly downwind of the fire.

Residents may continue to notice occasional smoke, odours or isolated flare-ups from the site. The department said these flare-ups can occur as crews expose and extinguish buried burning material and do not necessarily indicate the fire is expanding beyond the landfill area.

As operations continue to stabilize, CFD will transition from daily public updates to a weekly update schedule. Additional updates will be issued as required should significant developments occur at the site.

For the latest information on the landfill fire, visit Calgary.ca/landfillfire-30. Capping operations, monitoring and site rehabilitation activities will continue until the fire risk has been fully mitigated.