By Don Jacobs
The Knoxville News-Sentinel
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With its normal dumping location closed because of a fire, city officials have an emergency contract in place to take organic debris to other mulching sites.
“We basically did a shortterm, emergency agreement for 30 days,” David Brace, head of the city’s public service department, said Thursday.
Each day city crews haul 100-150 tons of tree limbs, brush and other organic materials to two sites operated by Nature’s Best Organics LLC, Brace said. Those locations are off Rutledge Pike and in Solway.
Although several trees were downed Thursday by a hail-laden storm that stymied morning rush hour drivers, Brace said the number was insignificant when contrasted to the daily haul of organic materials that city workers encounter.
“It’s just a few trees down, nothing extreme like a tornado hit the area,” he said.
The emergency contract was needed after the April 15 mulch fire at Shamrock Organic Products on Ailor Avenue. The Knoxville Fire Department is maintaining a watch on the 9-acre site that burned for nearly a week before firefighters gained control over the flames.
Even after the flames were doused, hot spots continued to burn in piles of mulch as high as 30 feet.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
Fire Department Deputy Chief Roger Byrd said Thursday that if there are no problems at the site through the night, officials expect to relinquish control of the scene to the owner.
Randy Greaves, president of Shamrock Organic Products, said his employees have begun to clean up the debris from the fire. He hopes to replace by next week equipment burned in the fire and reopen for business in upcoming weeks.
Greaves said he expects to meet with city officials to design plans for how to handle catastrophic events.
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