Photo by James Salanoa showing a debris fire at the Carson City Landfill on July 13.
UPDATE, Wednesday, July 19, 4:13 p.m.
The fire at the Carson City landfill was “declared extinguished early Monday,” according to an email from Carson City Fire Chief Sean Slamon.
There “are some materials that will continue to smolder for the next few days. Landfill and fire department crews will continue to monitor to ensure that there is not a reignition. There is no threat or danger to the public,” the email received Wednesday afternoon said.
INITIAL STORY
Carson City set a record on Sunday for summer heat as a debris fire at the Carson City Landfill continued to burn.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Tyler Salas, based in Reno, told the Appeal preliminary data shows that for July 16, the Carson City Airport registered 103 degrees Fahrenheit, well above the average for the day at 88.8 degrees. The years 2022, 2005 and 1998 got close to triple digits for the date, hitting 99 degrees, but Sunday set the record.
Salas said the all-time summer heat record for Carson City was set July 19, 1931. That day hit 107 degrees.
In Reno, a temperature of 106 degrees Saturday and 108 degrees Sunday became the hottest weekend on record, Salas said, surpassing the weekend of July 20-21 in 2013, which saw a two-day high of 105 degrees.
Salas said South Lake Tahoe also broke a record Sunday with a temperature of 93 degrees, above the record of 89 degrees set in 2005.
While temperatures cooled on Monday, Salas said they could rise again toward the end of the week with high pressure rebuilding in the region.
“It doesn’t look like we’re going to be shaking the heat,” he said.
Meanwhile, a debris fire that started at the Carson City Landfill on July 12 was still burning as of Monday. Not uncommon, debris fires can be caused by improperly disposed trash, like batteries or gas cans, according to Carson City Public Works.
“The fire is still burning,” Public Works Director Darren Schulz said Monday. “We continued to work on it 24/7 through the entire weekend, but as of this morning, it’s still going. The smoke and impact to the public have diminished significantly.”
Schulz said high temperatures over the weekend made it more difficult to fight the fire.
“Efforts will continue to put it out completely, but we are still days off,” he said.
“The materials that are burning are heavy timber and large-diameter wood such as trees and power poles, and full access to fight the fire remains difficult,” added Carson City Fire Chief Sean Slamon.
Slamon previously urged residents to be cautious and fire-safe as summer heat increases.
For more information about living with fire, visit https://www.livingwithfire.com/.