KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- As firefighters enter their fifth day of battling a mulch fire that has been fouling the area's air, a spokesman today said the smoldering blaze "is manageable."
Knoxville Fire Department spokesman Capt. D.J. Corcoran said this morning that the millions of gallons of water poured on the mulch, combined with a penetrating foam, have allowed firefighters to gain some ground on the problem.
"We feel like we are to a point where this is manageable," Corcoran said.
Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero was touring the site abut 12:30 p.m. from a Knox County Sheriff's Office helicopter hovering over the area, according to Jesse Mayshark, city communications manager.
Flames erupted about 11:30 a.m. Sunday at the Shamrock Organic Products on Ailor Avenue where mounds of mulch and unprocessed yard wastes cover nine acres.
Corcoran said additional resources from the Tennessee Forestry Division, Knoxville Airport Authority and Shamrock Organic Products have been helpful. Dozens of Knoxville firefighters have been training streams of water on the site continuously since Sunday.
Crews are using track hoes and bulldozers to manipulate the piles to allow water and foam to penetrate to hot spots deep in the piles that reach as high as 30 feet.
Copyright 2012 - The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
