A Thursday night fire at the Green River Solid Waste Transfer Station resulted in facility being closed for an unknown amount of time and the city scrambling to find a way to provide temporary services.
Around 10:30 p.m., the Green River Fire Department responded to the transfer station.
Fire chief Mike Nomis said once they arrived at the scene and could tell there was a fire inside, they forced themselves into the building through one of the building’s doors. The fire department had three engines and three command vehicles at the scene to put out the initial fire, which took about 30 minutes.
City Administrator Reed Clevenger said one of the bins that people dump garbage in caught fire.
“We don’t know how,” Clevenger said.
Nomis said because the fire was in a large dumpster it took them a while to make sure the fire was completely out.
The fire was so hot, internal damage to the building occurred, including damage to the vents, doors, signs and insulation, Clevenger said.
“It’s not as bad as we thought it was going to be,” he said.
By 4 a.m., the fire department was able to leave the scene, but an investigator returned Friday to see if they could determine the cause of the fire.
“It’s still under investigation,” Nomis said. “We don’t know what caused it.”
Public works director Mark Westenskow said the facility was closed Friday through Monday, but by Tuesday Wyoming Waste Services brought temporary bins for solid waste disposal to the station.
Westenskow said these bins will remain outside of the station until the building can be repaired. Even though there will be containers available for residents to dump their garbage, they will only be able to accept loads that can be unloaded by hand.
The bigger loads will just have to go to the landfill in Rock Springs until the transfer station is functioning again. As to when that might be, Westenskow wasn’t sure. It all depends on how long it takes for the insurance agency can process the claim and the building be repaired.
Clevenger said he’s hoping the fire department can determine what caused the fire so they can educate residents about what can and cannot be thrown away at the transfer station.
Nomis estimated that damage to the structure was between $25,000 to $30,000.
Clevenger wanted residents to know that this will not impact the residential or business pick ups they receive from Wyoming Waste Services.
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