If you’ve smelled smoke across San Antonio this week, you’re not imagining it — but San Antonio Fire Department officials say there’s no active fire threatening the area.
The odor is coming from a mulch fire that started Sunday evening at a recycling facility near Nelson Road in Southwest Bexar County. While firefighters were able to contain the flames that night, the fire didn’t fully go away.
Instead, it settled into something harder to eliminate: smoldering.
Mulch fires can burn deep below the surface, holding heat for days even after flames are knocked down. That means smoke can continue to seep out — and when the wind shifts, that smell can travel.
Joe Arrington, public information officer for the SAFD, said that’s what’s happening now in a statement provided to the San Antonio Report.
As winds changed direction this week, smoke from the site has been pushed north toward San Antonio, leading to a noticeable odor across parts of the city.
Fire crews monitored the scene through Monday before clearing it, confirming the fire was contained and no longer at risk of spreading. A follow-up inspection Thursday afternoon found no active flames and no threat to nearby schools or structures.
Still, some smoldering remains underground — which officials say is expected.
“As is typical with mulch fires, some residual smoking remains beneath the surface and can increase with any sort of disturbance,” the statement read.
Those disturbances can include wind, pile separation or a wet-down — the thorough soaking of the burning pile with water. While the wind shifted the smell into the San Antonio area, Arrington said a change in wind direction has also improved smoke conditions.
Local agencies have received multiple calls about the smell, particularly in Southwest Bexar County and surrounding areas.
Southwest ISD officials said in a statement to parents on Friday, that they are aware of the smoke and are monitoring conditions, but no health-related issues have been reported among students or staff. To address concerns, some campuses may keep students indoors if the smell becomes stronger.
While the city’s fire department is handling the situation, the Bexar County Fire Department in Emergency Service District 2 put out a similar statement on Facebook regarding the odor of smoke. The department said local area fire departments have been notified multiple times and that the smell is likely to continue as the smoldering material dissipates over the next few days.
The San Antonio Report has reached out to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regarding potential air quality impacts but has not received a response at the time of publication. Metro Health officials said they are working to provide additional guidance to the community.
This is a developing story.