BELLA VISTA -- State and federal officials on Friday toured the site on Trafalgar Road where an underground fire has burned for more than four months, but they 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 an hour.
The Arkansas Department of Health said 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 in that area.
Matt Loesel of the federal Environmental Protection Agency said testing Thursday and Friday showed no readings in the "unhealthy" category.
Journalists 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 that 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 is.
"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 will recommend to the state what could be done to extinguish it, Loesel said. He didn't have a timeline for when the agency will be done with its work. Topography will have to be considered when deciding what type of firefighting equipment to be moved in, Loesel said.
A collection system to gather any runoff will be set up if it's decided that large amounts of water will be needed 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 in that area.
The EPA is doing air quality testing along Trafalgar Road this month. 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 that benzene suggests there's trash in the former dump and not just yard waste.
Curtis and Tiffany Macomber, who live near the Bella Vista dump site, sued Brown's Tree Care and John Does 1-3 over the fire. The lawsuit was filed in Benton County Circuit Court.
It alleges that continued smoke from the site has created a hazardous situation for the Macombers and their children. The case is assigned to Benton County Circuit Judge Xollie Duncan. Brown Tree Care hasn't filed a response to the lawsuit.
Metro on 12/16/2018