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Smoke emerges from the landfill fire at ECCO Recycling and Energy Corp. as pictured on September 16, 2026. SARAH PALMER \/ LIVEWIRE CALGARY<\/p>\nThe fire at a southeast Calgary recycling and landfill site continues to burn and send smoke into the air, however it is under control at this time, fire officials said. <\/p>\n
Chief Steve Dongworth of the Calgary Fire Department (CFD) provided an update on Wednesday afternoon about the landfill fire at ECCO Recycling and Energy Corp., located in the Shepard Industrial area, which has been burning since Sept. 6.<\/p>\n
The fire is considered under control, but smoke remains a concern, as does the possibility of flare-ups as crews continue working. Chief Dongworth said that they should be able to control the smoke in the coming days, but that it might take weeks or months to fully extinguish it.<\/p>\n
He explained that the fire is active deep within the landfill materials, making it hard for workers to reach problem areas using the 10 trucks deployed at the site. Their current strategy includes smothering the fire and adjacent air pockets with dirt using contracted dowsers.<\/p>\n
Dongworth said that the CFD is working with partner agencies and specialized engineers with experience remedying more than 60 large landfill fires. He reiterated that the site is about the size of eight football fields and stressed that they are using every available option.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re confident we\u2019re taking the right steps in the right order with the right resources at this time,\u201d said Dongworth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo those residents in impacted communities, we appreciate your resilience and your patience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eliminating the smoke is one of their top priorities, he said, and listed the neighbourhoods on the east side of Macleod Trail between Remington and Legacy as those that will continue to experience air quality concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He recommended that residents keep doors and windows closed and limit time spent outdoors, especially those with preexisting health conditions. Ward 11 Coun. Rob Ward emphasized that the fire department is making strides to mitigate risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTouring the site today, I can say our fire department is resourced very well,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe efficiency of the operation is what I would describe as optimized to the absolute maximum. Access to the site is very difficult and very limited, so simply adding more resources, from what I can see, actually wouldn\u2019t expedite things \u2014 it would actually slow it down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smoke emerges from the landfill fire at ECCO Recycling and Energy Corp. as pictured on September 16, 2026. SARAH PALMER \/ LIVEWIRE CALGARY<\/p>\n
Company responsible will receive a hefty bill, says fire chief<\/p>\n
Two days ago, Mayor Jeromy Farkas confirmed that the City of Calgary had been pursuing court action<\/a> against ECCO after a ruling required the company to stop storing dry waste at its site.\u00a0<\/p>\n The city sought an additional injunction after finding that the company continued accepting waste outside its development permit. Dongworth said the area has been known to the CFD following previous fires recorded at the site.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n As a result, he said ECCO will be charged the costs of extinguishing the fire. Dongworth was unable to provide an estimated amount as efforts are ongoing, but mentioned the contracted equipment and incident management team as examples of expenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll be a very significant amount of money,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou look at the amount of equipment that\u2019s operating on this site right now \u2014 that\u2019s a pretty big price tag.\u201d<\/p>\n Coun. Ward said the legal case has been ongoing since before this incident and that, because of this, the city was not in a position to interrupt the process to prevent what is happening today. He said he hopes for justice to be served in the form of \u201cserious consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, when somebody appears to be blatantly ignoring orders and safety regulations, then there needs to be consequences for that,\u201d said Ward.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, the consequences are not up to me; they\u2019re up to the court and the judge. But yeah, there needs to be consequences for blatantly not following the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this week, the Government of Alberta announced it has monitored air quality in the area and found a relatively low health risk. Regardless, Ward said that he sympathizes with nearby residents for having to endure the outcome.<\/p>\n \u201cI truly do feel for residents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve come here every single day to check it out, and yeah, it\u2019s terrible. The smell is terrible. I believe it does impact your breathing.\u201d<\/p>\n Residents affected by the smoke have been encouraged to contact Health Link by dialling 811 and to also check the current conditions online using Alberta\u2019s Air Quality Health Index<\/a>.<\/p>\n Aerial view of the landfill fire at ECCO Recycling and Energy Corp. as captured by Calgary Police Service drones. VIDEO SUPPLIED BY CALGARY FIRE DEPARTMENT <\/p>\n Liked it? Take a second to support Sarah Palmer – Local Journalism Initiative on Patreon!<\/p>\n
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