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Aaron Leaman / Stuff
A community meeting was held Wednesday at the Pukemiro school to discuss the ongoing fire at the Puke coal dump.
Residents of a north Waikato village have begun sleeping in their cars to escape the suffocating stench from an underground trash fire.
The fire at the Puke Coal landfill in Pukemiro, near Huntly, has been burning since Aug. 16, causing smoke and noxious fumes to cover the surrounding area.
Angry residents of Pukemiro and Glen Afton gathered at the Pukemiro school Wednesday night to share their frustrations and hear what steps officials are taking to put out the deep-rooted blaze.
Pukemiro resident Peggy Molleman said exposure to fumes from the fire had caused residents to experience a variety of ailments, including nausea, migraines, shortness of breath and insomnia.
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Other residents said smoke from the fire was embedded in the curtains and carpets in their homes.
“Some of us have become homeless,” Molleman told Waikato regional and district council officials.
“Some of us sleep in our cars. My family and I ran to the car, drove to Waingaro Rd, and slept along the road to avoid the smell. “
CHRISTEL YARDLEY / Things
A fire has been burning at the Puke Coal landfill in Pukemiro since August 16.
Brent Sinclair, Waikato Regional Council Acting Director of Resource Use, said staff from various agencies had come together to form an incident management team to coordinate efforts to extinguish the fire and make the owner of Puke Coal, John Campbell, be accountable.
Environment Minister David Parker has requested regular briefings on the landfill fire.
“Since the fire started in August, our colleagues at Fire and Emergency New Zealand have been trying to put out the fire,” Sinclair said.
“Trying to put water in it [fire] has not been successful. “
CHRISTEL YARDLEY / things
Peggy Molleman sometimes sleeps in her car to escape the smell of the garbage fire at the Puke Coal landfill.
Firefighters favor putting a clay cap on the fire to deprive it of oxygen. A similar technique was used at the Hampton Downs landfill when a fire broke out there in 2019. That fire took four days to control.
“I think we all know the difference in that [Hampton Downs] situation, ”Sinclair told the gathering of more than 50 people.
“We had a responsible landowner who was very concerned about the residents who live near them. As we all know, it is simply not the situation we have here. If that situation were here, we would not need to be here because we would have a landowner who will take responsibility ”.
The regional council’s compliance manager, Patrick Lynch, is leading the investigation into the circumstances of the fire. More resources are being put into the investigation than in any other case in which Lynch has been involved.
Testimonies from residents about the effects of the fire were crucial in determining its environmental impact, he said.
Lynch said two employees were working full-time making plans to enter the landfill. A key consideration is the safety of personnel.
Aaron Leaman / Stuff
Waikato Regional Council Acting Director of Resource Utilization Brent Sinclair speaks during a community meeting at Pukemiro School. He said communication was initially lacking with affected residents.
“When we go there, that becomes our workplace,” Lynch said.
“The objective of going to the site will be to establish exactly what are the contaminants that are there and that should not be there and, if possible, to quantify them.”
No official was able to give a timetable for when the fire will be extinguished.
“I just want to make it clear to the community that we all see this as serious,” Sinclair said.
“All agencies are putting resources to find a solution here, but we recognize that all of our efforts to date have not put out that fire.”
