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Crews to begin underground dump fire cleanup Saturday

BELLA VISTA, Ark. — Officials say an environmental engineering firm is preparing to extinguish an underground dump fire that’s been burning since July at a former unlicensed northwest Arkansas dump.

KFSM reports that crews will begin firefighting Saturday in Bella Vista, about 170 miles (270 kilometres) northwest of Little Rock.

E-3 Environmental says the first day or two of firefighting will be “experimental” as crews determine how aggressively they can fight the fire based on how much smoke and particulate are generated.

The Bella Vista Property Owners Association has said the cleanup will cost about $4 million. Crews plan to excavate and destroy organic material in a trench burn. They’ll sort potentially hazardous waste for processing.

Residents noticed the fire last July and some say smoke has caused respiratory and other health problems.

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Information from: KFSM-TV, http://www.kfsm.com/

The Associated Press

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