Baldwin Co. Landfill Fire in Alabama Destroys Equipment

BAY MINETTE, Ala. (AP) -- A fire at a Baldwin County landfill destroyed a $200,000 trash compactor and several square feet of demolition materials, a county official said Monday.

Jim Ransom, the county's solid waste director, said his staff finished covering the area with dirt at about 1 a.m. Monday after volunteer firefighters battled the blaze at the Magnolia Landfill for several hours.

The fire ruined a track loader, a large piece of equipment used to crush waste and place it on the slope, Ransom said.

He said a landfill employee who lives nearby spotted the fire at about 6:45 p.m. Sunday. No one was working at the time at the land fill, which closed for the week end at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Ransom said he believes a burn barrel used to burn leaves or ashes may have ignited the blaze.

``What we think happened is we got a hot load on Saturday afternoon,'' he said. ``Then when the winds picked up yesterday afternoon, that fanned the flames.''