By Amanda Reimherr
San Antonio Express-News
Copyright 2006 San Antonio Express-News
All Rights Reserved
HELOTES, Texas - A giant mulch pile that has been burning for more than four days prompted the city of Helotes to issue a declaration of disaster Friday.
The large amounts of smoke and ash produced by the still-smoldering pile of cedar and mulch have created a serious health hazard for residents of Helotes, Northwest Bexar County and the San Antonio area, Helotes Mayor Jon Allan said.
“We have declared a local state of disaster because the health hazards resulting from the smoke and ash have exceeded our capabilities here in the city, and it is not something we can face just ourselves,” Allan said Friday evening.
“The fire may be outside the city limits, but the health hazards are here in the city limits of Helotes and my responsibility is to our citizens,” he said. “We need as many agencies involved as possible.”
Allan said the declaration would heighten awareness of the problem and give officials more authority to make quick decisions.
“This is a difficult situation with a major hazard and not a lot of good options. We have an issue of where does the responsibility lie since it is not in our city limits,” he said.
The pile - located on the property of Henry Zumwalt off FM 1560 near the intersection with Bandera Road -- is estimated to be 400 feet long and 80 feet high. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality granted Zumwalt a permit for the pile years ago as part of a recycling operation.
The pile caught fire sometime around midnight Monday. Officials said there was no threat of the fire spreading and decided to let it burn itself out.
Pockets of flames still could be seen all over the pile on Friday, and officials said the Bexar County fire marshal’s office estimates it could continue to burn for a month or more. The cause still is unknown.
Allan said Zumwalt is working with city and county fire officials and has agreed to pay the cost of an assessment by Williams Fire & Hazard Control. The company will be on the property today, along with the TCEQ, the Bexar County fire marshal, the Helotes Fire Department and a representative from the governor’s office.
“Williams has worked with these types of major mulch fires all over the country. So they know how to fight it, how long it could burn and what could be done,” Allan said.
The San Antonio Area Chapter of the American Red Cross closed a shelter it had opened Thursday at Marshall High School for people affected by smoke and ash from the fire and volunteers will be on hand to open a rest center at Helotes City Hall, 12951 Bandera Road, if needed.