Fire continues to burn at Raleigh landfill, nearly a week later

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A fire at a landfill in Wake County continues to burn more than five days after it ignited.

Chopper 11 flew over the site of the fire Tuesday and Wednesday, noting that the fire had died down significantly Wednesday.

The fire is burning at Wall Recycling. The landfill is on Gresham Lake Road near I-540 and Capital Boulevard. Wall Recycling is currently in charge of containing and extinguishing the fire, and they expect the fire to be out by the end of the day Wednesday.

"It was real dense, I felt like I was in the middle of a forest fire," Jim Clark said.

Clark, who's lived in a neighborhood nearby for 20 years, said this fire seemed to be bigger than ones in the past. Plus, other neighbors said they felt like fires were happening at the landfill more frequently than in the past.

"There's more volume in this smoke, goes longer than it did before too," Clark said.

For Ashlyn Joyner, depending on the wind, the fire can be more noticeable.

"It's more than a smell," Joyner said. "We noticed the ash kind of comes over, you can see it on the front of our cars when we park in the driveways. When I noticed it burning and ash coming down, I try not to walk (my dog) in that."

Although officials expect the fire to be extinguished Wednesday night, neighbors should be aware that there may still be some smoke once the flames have been put out.

The state's Division of Air Quality said the level of exposure determines the amount of risk, so sensitive populations, including children and older adults, may consider limiting their time outdoors if they can see or smell smoke.

"People who have lung conditions and not in great health, we're older couple so we don't like that at all if there's a way to control it," Clark said.

ABC11 reached out to Wall Recycling to get a clear answer on how long this fire is expected to burn and if any previous burns were approved.

"It's grown to be a collection point for trees and other wood debris, so the original function I think has changed quite a bit," Clark said. "It's more of a problem now than it used to be because the operators there are not disposing of this properly, in my opinion."

The cause of the fire is likely to remain undetermined as mitigation efforts have likely destroyed any evidence of what might have started the fire, according to the Fire Marshal's Office.

Wall Recycling is handling all mitigation efforts while several agencies help monitor the situation, according to Wake County officials.