From The Tribune staff reports
MOODY — The Moody Fire Department continues to monitor the Environmental Landfill (1317 Annie Lee Rd) fire; there have been no changes in the fire activity, but heavy smoke continues to billow into the surrounding area.
Moody Brush Fire (Photo courtesy of the Moody Fire Department)
According to the Moody Fire Department’s Facebook page, as of Monday, Dec. 12, smoke continues to discharge from both the heavy fuels on top of the ground and from holes and cracks from the underground portion of the fire. The smoke does seem to be a little heavier than in previous days on the north end of the incident.
Related Story: UPDATE: Moody brush fire activity decreases, smoke continues
“This is not the Moody Landfill or Star Ridge or Waste Management which is located at 3301 Acmar Rd,” Moody FD stated. “The two ARE NOT CONNECTED. They are, in fact, several miles apart.”
The Environmental Landfill is set up to take in natural debris such as leaves, limbs, and trees. Other materials are not permitted into this landfill.
“This department will not speculate on what materials have been brought into this site over the years because we simply do not know,” Moody FD stated. “Layers of materials were placed here and covered with dirt. Then, more layers were added, and so on.”
The official term for the trees, limbs, and other materials in a brush fire is fuel, and these fuels are identified by how long they can burn. Flash fuel consists of grass and dry leaves.
“This particular site contains fuels identified as 500-hour and 1000-hour fuels due to the diameter of the material,” Moody FD stated. “The heat output, along with the fact that this is a deep-seated underground fire along with surface fire, is extremely resistant to using water as a quenching agent, and you simply can’t bury something that is already by definition buried (underground).
“Trying to churn the underground material up is a dangerous idea since it has been burning and may be unstable to work around with heavy equipment. Introducing more oxygen to a smoldering fuel will allow it to ignite, causing further problems.”
The investigation into the cause of this fire is ongoing and may take an extended amount of time to conclude.
“Wildland and wildland-urban interface fires are notoriously difficult to determine a cause on due to their size and potential access problems,” Moody FD stated. “No information will be released to the public about an ongoing investigation to avoid any compromise of that investigation.”
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Moody FD doubts that new material has been added to the site.
“The pictures circulated on Facebook were examined and compared to previous videos and pictures, and we believe those materials were already in place,” Moody FD stated. “As the fuels on the edge are consumed, they reduce, and people can see further into the site. This causes confusion, but the materials in question were stacked using heavy machinery that has not been on site since Nov. 30 due to the unstable nature of the area.”
Moody FD has control of the entry point. If you see someone on the site that doesn’t have emergency lights or is not being escorted by someone with emergency lights, call 911 and report it.
Moody FD is currently working and in contact with Alabama Forestry, St Clair County EMA, and ADEM. Additionally, the Governor has been briefed.
ADEM has sent the following statement: “ADEM is coordinating with state and local officials, including the Moody Fire and Rescue Department, to help determine the best path forward to deal with the fire at the Environmental Landfill site.”
Moody FD continues to monitor the incident and evaluate potential solutions to this problem. Updates will continue on the Moody Fire Department Facebook page. At this point, updates will be issued weekly unless changes to the incident dictate a more urgent update. The next update will be on Dec. 19, 2022. Any questions or media inquiries can be directed to jmulkey@moodyalabama.gov.
