POTTER COUNTY, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Potter County Fire Rescue has released the incident report related to the Landfill Fire that occurred in May and resulted in the loss of homes.
Sunday, May 17, a fire was detected at the landfill
According to the incident narrative written by Assistant Fire Chief Jonathan Stevens, Potter County Fire Rescue was dispatched to the 1600 block of Bezner Drive on Sunday May 17 regarding a reported fire investigation. The report notes that Stevens observed a large pile of burning refuse within the landfill pit, located on the south side of the pit designated as “Cell 10.”
Stevens noted the cell appeared to be approximately five acres, and he then contacted the City of Amarillo Solid Waste Department and requested heavy equipment to respond to the scene. Stevens observed at 3:46 p.m. the fire transitioning rapidly due to extreme wind conditions and a volume of uncovered refuse within the pit. The fire was observed jumping 100 yards to the north and east.
Stevens noted that the fire was then spotted an additional 100 yards across the pit to the Northeast corner in the bottom of the pit shortly after. The Amarillo Fire Department then arrived on scene, and a unified command structure was established…