Crews battle landfill blaze

Water tankers from at least seven different fire departments moved in and out of the county landfill Sunday afternoon to battle a huge blaze roaring through an appliance pile.

The fire broke out early in the afternoon at the Flathead County Solid Waste facility south of Whitefish on U.S. 93. Intense flames rose through a thick black column of smoke that could be seen for miles.

The fire attracted hundreds of spectators and slowed traffic on U.S. 93 as the fire burned until shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday.

It’s still unknown what caused the fire, which burned through the large mound of discarded appliances.

On Monday, workers were sifting through the torched pile of washing machines, lawnmowers and other appliances in the massive pile. The county relies on metal salvage as a source of revenue.

The landfill had up to 900 tons of material and about half of it burned, according to Jim Chilton, the landfill operations manager.

“It looks like all the metals will be salvageable, so that’s a good thing,” Chilton said.

A water tanker was on standby during the cleanup effort, but it was dismissed at midmorning Monday.

Responding departments on Sunday included West Valley, Kalispell, Evergreen, Columbia Falls, South Kalispell, Smith Valley and Whitefish. An emergency medical unit was called to stand by, but no injuries were reported.

-Reporter Matt Hudson contributed to this story.