Black smoke could be seen coming from Yellowknife’s solid waste facility late on Wednesday afternoon as it experienced its second fire of the day.
On Wednesday morning, firefighters were called to the dump to extinguish a fire “in the load area” of a garbage truck, the city said.
A lineup of vehicles had developed outside the facility by 11:15am as the entrance was temporarily closed during the incident.
In a brief statement, the city said the fire had been reported 25 minutes earlier, when a garbage truck arrived at the facility with a fire in progress.
“The truck was directed to the designated hot dump area, where Solid Waste Facility staff followed established procedures to safely manage the situation. The material was spread out and extinguished by the Yellowknife Fire Division,” the city stated.
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“There were no injuries, and the situation was quickly brought under control. We appreciate the quick response and coordinated efforts of the City staff involved.”
After a few hours’ peace, fire crews were called out for a second time shortly after 5pm.
Firefighters could be heard describing to dispatchers an initial struggle to enter the facility – which had closed for the day – before they began to attack a fire within the compound.
The causes of the two fires were not clear. Crews remained at the scene of the second fire until 8:30pm, the city said in a Thursday morning update.
“The fire was brought under control quickly using water and foam, with assistance from landfill staff operating heavy equipment. There were no injuries,” the city said of the second fire.
