Iqaluit firefighters douse dump fire

Iqaluit’s landfill caught fire around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 11. (PHOTO BY BETH BROWN)

Dark smoke wafted across Frobisher Bay yesterday evening, bringing with it a smell familiar to many Iqaluit residents—a dump fire.

When Iqaluit’s landfill on West 40 Rd. caught fire at around 5:30 p.m. on July 11, it took about two hours for 25 members of Iqaluit’s Fire Department to get that blaze under control.

Today, the landfill is closed.

City is advising residents that the landfill will be closed on Thursday, July 12. As well, garbage and cardboard pickup will be deferred until Friday.
The City thanks you for your understanding.

— City of Iqaluit (@CityofIqaluit) July 12, 2018

“Public Works crews are continuing to deliver trucked water to the site. Crews will remain on site until the fire is fully extinguished,” the City of Iqaluit said in a public service announcement sent just before 9 p.m.

While the fire was burning, water trucks sped down the road, beeping at cars they needed to pass.

Iqaluit Mayor Madeleine Redfern took to Twitter to remind residents that checking out the fire meant getting in the way of emergency workers.

People NEED to stay off the main roads to and from the dump fire, so that our water trucks can go to and from the dump with water.

Obstructing our roads for our emergency crews and water trucks causes delays and puts everyone at risk of accidents.

— Madeleine Redfern (@MayorMadeleine) July 11, 2018

At the dump, police blocked the road while the fire department worked on the flames.

Residents who took photos from afar brought up the familiar Iqaluit hashtag “dumpcano” in light of a month-long dump fire from 2014. http://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/65674firefighters_reach_hottest_portion_of_dumpcano/

#dumpcano #july2018 #iqaluit #again pic.twitter.com/15xgJ9vgPw

— Kaani Naulaq (@NaulaqKaani) July 11, 2018

It remains unclear how the fire started. City officials say they will provide an update on the situation later today.

Firefighters doused the fire for about two hours. (PHOTO BY BETH BROWN)