Lang
11/21/24
A Wednesday morning fire at Johnson County Refuse has shaken up garbage pickup times around the area.
The North Liberty Fire Department was dispatched to the recycling center at 970 238th Street just after 6:15 a.m. Upon arrival, firefighters found black smoke coming from an open overhead door on the east side of the building. Crews entered and found fire in a large pile of recyclable materials that was being stored for processing. The fire was knocked down, but deep-seated smoldering existed in the pile.
Using a skid loader, firefighters removed the burning material to the exterior of the building. Extensive overhaul operations took place on the inside of the building until all hidden fire was uncovered. All occupants were out of the building at the time of the fire. Crews were on the scene for three hours.
Firefighters from Coralville, Tiffin, Swisher and Iowa City assisted in the effort.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. A loss estimate is currently unavailable.
The fire wreaked havoc on local garbage and recycling pickup efforts. The official Facebook pages for the cities of Hills and Lone Tree noted that the fire would lead to trash and recycling pickup being delayed in both cities.
The City of Tiffin page also announced garbage and recycling pickup for that city would be delayed Wednesday and Thursday. The post also blamed the delay on the landfill being closed Thursday due to high winds.
The City of Solon has announced its trash and recycling pickup day will be Saturday this week due to the fire and landfill closure.