Fire at Sierra Vista Transfer Center self ignited due to excessive heat, dryness causing closure

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — City of Sierra Vista staff finished cleaning up the remains of the fire at the transfer station on Monday.

Crews were moving and spraying water on the wood pile that burned at the end of June to stop the burning.

"Right now it's like a campfire," said Sierra Vista Fire Marshall, Don Foster.

Smoke continued to fill the air, despite fire crews leaving the scene, because of the cleanup efforts and moving of the burning material.

“There’s nothing that we can do that we’re not already doing to mitigate the smoke," Foster said. "Because we have to expose everything as we’re digging it a part to cool it down.”

Foster said the four-foot piles of wood caught on fire after it spontaneously ignited because of high heat and dry conditions. Because the piles were primarily wood, they quickly engulfed in flames before firefighters could stop the spread.

Foster said wood and compost plies can reach temperature of 160 degrees, especially in the summer months.

The Fire Marshall warns people who compost at home to keep it away from any structures, rotate the materials and wet piles at least once a week to keep the internal temperature down.

“You want to turn it you know once or twice a week because it actually gets rid of some of the heat," Foster said. "(It) gets some air in there and generates… it actually helps with the decomposing.”

Since the sight has been cleared of the burning wood there shouldn't be any smoke visible from the area.

According to the City of Sierra Vista's Facebook page, the transfer center will remain closed for the remainder of the week.

It will reopen on Monday, July 17. There will be a new drop off location for the public to use.

Foster said their will be stricter checks of what is dropped off since the fire unveiled items, like a bike and bumper, that people snuck in to the compost material they dropped off.