(Eddyville, IA) -- A large fire has been burning for days at a compost facility in southern Iowa. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says it started Sunday at a composting site two miles south of Eddyville and is still burning it's way thru tree debris from last year's derecho.
Crews are on scene bulldozing waste and working to put out the fire, which has prompted multiple complaints about smoke and odor from Eddyville.
The fire at the Chamness Technology’s compost site is burning through shredded trees and shrubs stockpiled from the derecho. he chipped wood waste is used to soak up excess moisture (leachate) and bulk up other materials to aid in composting them.
Heavy equipment is being used to spread out and extinguish the fire. Staffer are also spraying spraying leachate onto the fire, catching the runoff in trenches below the site.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resource says progress is being made but there are still hot spots to put out.
The DNR says the cause of the fire is unknown, but fires caused by spontaneous combustion occurred on the site periodically through 2020 and as recently as May this year.