As landfill fire continues to smolder, Rice County boosts air quality monitoring
RICE COUNTY, Minn. – Smoke, and potentially dangerous fumes, have filled the air near a southern Minnesota landfill since Monday night.
It's not clear when a fire will be out at the Rice County Landfill in Bridgewater Township, north of Faribault.
MORE: Rice County officials warn of health effects from landfill fire
Neighbors say Sen. Bill Lieske, R-Lonsdale, has worked this week to secure state emergency response mutual aid to help put out the fire.
Claudine Barbetti, who lives about half a mile away, says a haze settled over the area this week like a thick fog.
"One of the buses that takes the kids to school, there was a road she wouldn't drive down because she was afraid she couldn't see," Barbetti said. "The smell was pretty bad. It was burning plastic and garbage, but mostly burning plastic, which is what the big concern was...My sinuses were burning, I had a headache, I was nauseous and I had this weird, cold sweat."
Trisha Carlson, another neighbor, says she and her son lost their voices with scratchy throats.
"Little scary and nerve-wracking seeing the smoke rise," Carlson said. "Smell of burnt sulfur, like right as soon as somebody lights a match."
Rice County says it doesn't know how the fire started. With the air quality already lower than normal because of Canadian wildfire smoke, the county's working with state pollution officials.
Fire crews continued to fight smoldering debris Wednesday. The county says it's using air quality monitoring equipment for in and around the landfill, and also for where the smoke may have traveled.
Neighbors want their soil tested, too.
"I grow food for my family," Barbetti said. "I'm surrounded by farmers that grow food for the population and the food supply, so I'm concerned with any lasting effects that are going to be there."
When air quality is low, anyone with a respiratory condition should be extra careful. Rice County says that includes staying inside and limiting physical activity.