KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — People across Knoxville are likely smelling smoke in the air from a fire at a landfill in east Knox County.
According to Jeff Bagwell with Rural Metro, firefighters were called to the Poplar View landfill off Rutledge Pike around 10:30 p.m. Thursday night.
Crews weren't able to put a lot of water on the fire because of the risk of runoff into the Holston River.
Landfill operators are using earthmoving equipment to dig up the burning material and cover it with dirt to extinguish it.
"They are digging and separating what has burned from where the fire is from what's unburned,” Bagwell said. “Which is a painstaking process. Because if you can imagine that garbage may be several feet deep. You have to dig every bit of that out.”
Rural Metro firefighters are not at the landfill at this time, but Bagwell said they will respond to assist if needed.
This isn't the first time Rural Metro has been called out to the landfill.
“When we first arrived, we have been to this landfill before. We have had the same similar problems there with fires,” said Bagwell.
The smoke from the fire could be contributing to poor air quality in Knoxville on Friday.
Airnow.gov briefly listed Knoxville's air quality as red, which is classified as unhealthy. It lists the primary pollutant in the air as PM2.5, which the EPA defined as particulate matter, a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air that could include smoke.
It's back to a yellow Friday afternoon, which is classified as moderate, with ozone as the primary issue.
While not as severe, the smell reminds some people of the massive fire at Fort Loudoun Recycling Facility in North Knoxville in 2019. That fire sent a huge plume of black smoke into the air that could be seen for miles and forced the evacuation of nearby neighbors. You can see that video below: