Overnight fire at Kelowna landfill extinguished

Crews worked through most to the night until early this morning, July 11, battling a fire at the Glenmore landfill in Kelowna.

The fire was spotted at about 7:30 p.m. last night and is now fully extinguished.

“The first arriving officer reports a 50-foot by 50-foot deep seated garbage fire in the north end of the landfill,” a Kelowna Fire Department news release said. “Crews worked with landfill staff (heavy equipment operators and landfill water tenders) to bring the fire under control and extinguish it.”

Firefighting efforts were slowed by heavy smoke, access and water supply issues.

The cause of the fire is undetermined but is not suspicious. There were no injuries.

The Kelowna Fire Department sent four fire engines, two tenders, one bush truck, a command unit and a safety unit including 20 fire personnel. Two pieces of heavy equipment and two water tenders from the landfill as well as RCMP, BC Ambulance Service  and the Salvation Army also assisted the Kelowna Fire Department.

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