Thursday March 28th, 2024 10:13PM

Mulch fire burning in Barrow Co. for the past week

WINDER - A mulch fire has been burning for a week in Barrow County, and will continue to burn through the long weekend. <br /> <br /> Lt. Scott Dakin with the Barrow County Fire Department said the fire began after a pile of mulch at Cowart Mulch Products caught fire.<br /> <br /> "Last Thursday, just after 3 a.m. we got the call," said Dakin. "The fire was just a result of combustion, which happens with mulch products as it progresses along. It just got super-heated and ignited on fire."<br /> <br /> Dakin said extinguishing the fire is a challenge due to how large the mulch pile is. "What we're doing at this point is allowing the mulch to continue to burn down some."<br /> <br /> Cowart personnel are building a fire break around the property to maintain the fire.<br /> <br /> "For the next four to five days the fire's just gonna burn freely unless we get a good, significant amount of rain, in which case, we can start extinguishment," said Dakin.<br /> <br /> Allowing the mulch fire to burn down some was the best solution to the problem, Dakin said, after the business owners spoke with fire officials and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. <br /> <br /> As for the smoke, Dakin said it will be around for the long weekend, and then some. "We're getting calls from Gwinnett, Walton and lots of citizens here in Barrow County about the fire and smoke and we just want to let them know it's a side effect we can't control, unfortunately."<br />
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