Officials Say McClellan-Palomar Airport Fire Under Control

CARLSBAD -- Officials monitoring an underground fire at McClellan-Palomar Airport reported Monday that temperatures in the fire zone have dropped by up to 50 degrees thanks to a continuous injection of grout and foam the last several weeks.

"The temperatures have come down really quite a bit," said Doug Brewer, a civil engineer with the San Diego County Department of Public Works. "We've been happy with the approach we've been taking."

The fire, which was discovered by Western Flight employees on Sept. 23, is believed to be fueled by methane gas from a decomposing, underground garbage dump. Years ago, the airport area was home to several of these dumps, but this is the first underground fire at the site, county officials have said.

Brewer said they think they have finally nailed down how the fire began, saying they've discovered an abandoned storm drain line near the fire's center that may have provided a way for oxygen to reach the underground trash heap.

"We plan on digging it up and capping it." he added.

In their effort to fight the blaze, contractors have injected more than 500 cubic yards of foam/grout firefighting material into the ground. That's equivalent to 50 cement trucks' worth of material, Brewer said.

The fire situation is improving so much the contractors might finish their work by the end of the week, he added. Randy Van Lierop, a superintendent with the geotechnical company Moore & Taber, agreed with Brewer's assessment.

Temperature-sensing equipment in the fire's core area now records 160 degrees to 170 degrees, down from an estimated 220 degrees, Van Lierop said. Areas outside the 10-by-10-foot core fire zone now register temperatures in the 90-degree range, he added.

County officials and contractors said they may never know how hot the fire initially got because their thermometers only go up to 200 degrees.

"It was melting plastic, so I know it was pretty warm," Brewer said.

They now have about a half dozen "semi-permanent" temperature monitoring devices in the area. Those will be checked daily until officials can confirm that the fire is extinguished, Brewer said.

"If they have any flare-ups or any concerns all, they've got to do is call us and we'll be back," Van Lierop said.

About a half-dozen small planes had to be relocated at the airport because of the underground blaze. Once the fire is out and the area is repaired, the planes are expected to return, county officials have said.

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