Rankin Inlet residents report health concerns as landfill fire continues to smoulder

Garbage smoke from Rankin Inlet’s landfill fire continues to plague the community, with one resident saying her family has kept the windows shut for weeks while coping with headaches and congestion.

Violet Roxann Innukshuk, who lives about one kilometre from the landfill in Rankin Inlet’s Old Town neighbourhood, said that, since the fire began July 4, the smell of smoke drifts towards her home whenever winds blow from the south.

“We kept having to keep our windows closed and put fans on in our home to try and have a cool breeze,” Innukshuk said in a Facebook message. “Those days were pretty hot out too.”

Innukshuk said she has had a headache for two days, while her daughter-in-law woke up Sunday with a headache and congestion.

Her daughter and a few of her grandchildren have asthma, she said, so the family has to be extra careful about smoke exposure.

Innukshuk said she visited the landfill Sunday and could still see smoke rising from the south end of the site.

Fire Chief Mark Wyatt said a fire burning on the surface of the landfill was extinguished July 16 but smoke is still coming from a fire burning deep beneath the landfill.

“Occasionally, smoke will break through and we’re doing our best to continue to monitor it and smother it,” Wyatt said Tuesday in an interview.

Wyatt said smoke from forest fires down south tend to have a greater impact on the community’s air quality than the landfill fire has, but the distinct smell of burning garbage can make even small amounts of smoke noticeable.

The landfill, which is the size of a football field, contains decades of compacted waste and is at least 50 feet deep, Wyatt said. 

“The way that a dump fire works is you’ve got air pockets underground, and those air pockets are going to continue to smoulder, and it’s pretty much impossible to put out,” he said. 

Drilling into the landfill to spray water underground could introduce oxygen, causing it to flare up, Wyatt said.

Instead, crews have covered the entire dump with at least four feet of sand to limit the oxygen feeding the fire.

“What we are doing is the most significant way of suppressing this fire,” Wyatt said. “Every time we see smoke coming from the dump, even if it’s small little wisps, we’re out there continuing to bury it.”

The Department of Health said it is aware of reports from residents experiencing headaches, congestion and other symptoms related to smoke, particularly among people with respiratory conditions.

The department issued an air quality advisory on July 7 that remains in effect whenever smoke is present in the community, said communications manager Charmaine Deogracias. 

Residents are advised to avoid the area around the landfill, stay indoors with windows and doors closed, avoid strenuous outdoor activity and seek medical attention if they experience serious symptoms such as chest pain or difficulty breathing, the advisory said.