Iowa City landfill fire could be completely covered by next week

The massive Iowa City landfill fire that has been burning for nearly two weeks could be completely covered in three to five days, officials announced Friday morning.

A stir, burn and cover operation that began Monday evening has successfully buried 50 percent of the fire under a layer of clay soil, officials said in a news release Friday. The work, conducted by Environmental Restoration LLC and Connolly Construction, is expected to continue through the weekend.

The city expects the fire site to be completely covered sometime next week if the weather cooperates, but crews will continue efforts to contain the fire after it's covered as it's expected to burn underground “for an extended period of time.”

The city also warns that flare-ups above ground and in the landfill space near where the fire started are expected, and the Iowa City Fire Department will address those as needed.

GALLERY: Iowa City landfill fire

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Because of the progress crews have made to cover the fire, emissions have been reduced, according to the city. But health precautions issued by the Johnson County Health Department – including avoiding the smoke plume and taking extra precautions for the very young and elderly – remain in effect for the region.

City officials also said they are continuing to work to dispose of the pyrolitic oil produced by the tires burning in the landfill. About 38,000 gallons have been shipped off site to out-of-state locations to date, according to the city. Remaining oil, about 80,000 gallons, has been enclosed in storage tanks, reducing the fire risk previously associated with open-air storage, according to the news release.

Crews expect it will take a couple weeks to remove all the pyrolitic oil generated by the fire so far, and additional oil produced as the fire continues to burn underground will be captured and transported.

Officials estimate the total cost of the fire to date to be between $4 million and $6 million, although the total cost of the fire won't be known until damages can be fully assessed and a remediation strategy is developed, according to the city.

Iowa City has submitted a notice of claim to insurance carriers, which will need several weeks to process the claim and report their findings to the city.

More information on the fire status is available on the city's website at www.icgov.org or on Facebook under the event name, “Iowa City Landfill Fire.”About 9 a.m. Friday, the city posted a photo of trucks continuing to haul in clay to cover the fire on its Facebook page.

And an in-depth presentation that originally aired Tuesday also is available on the city's website or through InfoVision on-demand on City Channel 5.

Public Health Department suggestions include avoiding exposure to the smoke as much as possible, and avoiding outdoor activities if the smoke plume is present. People who have respiratory, heart or other conditions and pregnant women, young children and older residents should stay indoors with outside sources of air shut off.

Most home air conditioning units recirculate air from the interior and should be sufficient, health officials said.

Nursing homes, day cares and other businesses that car for the elderly, young or persons with respiratory diseases should take special precautions to monitor the health of clients and reduce exposure.