Miami-Dade local authorities believe that it will take days before the fire in Doral is completely extinguished
DORAL, FLORIDA – The big fire at the Covanta Energy Plant over the weekend is still burning as of Monday.
Crews said that there is enough burning debris to fill about two football fields.
Ray Jadallah, the chief of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, said, “This is going to be a long-term fire that will take several days to put out.”
The accident happened on Sunday around 2:20 p.m. in the area of 6990 NW 97th Ave.
After the big fire, 7 Skyforce is moving over the destroyed building.
At the Miami Dade County Resources Recovery Facility in Doral, which is used to turn trash into energy, there are still hot spots.
A man said, “We saw a big cloud of smoke come out, and the fire trucks came rushing in.”
During the night and the next day, hundreds of firefighters worked to put out the fire.
Nestor Perez from Earth Justice said that his non-profit environmental law group has been asking the county to close the facility for over a year.
Perez said, “It shows that it has to go.”
“There are other ways to deal with trash than putting it in a landfill or burning it,” said Perez.
After investigators said a conveyor belt moved the fire from building to building, the whole operation burned down by accident on Sunday.
This place won’t take loads of trash, which is another problem for the county.
“Our department of solid waste has already worked to reroute the trash collection that used to come to this site,” said Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “You shouldn’t have to wait long for your trash to be picked up.”
The county has been keeping an eye on the air quality, and officials say there have been no problems so far.
No one has been hurt, as far as we know.