It took well over 50,000 gallons of water to put out a fire at the Altona/Rhineland Landfill north of Altona Monday.

Fire fighters were called to the scene around 5:17 p.m. and didn't leave until about 10 p.m, according to fire chief Greg Zimmerman.

"When we arrived, basically the entire part of the landfill that contains the garbage was ablaze," he explained.

Fire fighters quickly got to work snuffing out the flames.

"We used a ground monitor and our deck gun off the truck. We went to the porta-tank and started hauling water out from town. Winkler Fire Department came in and assisted us with hauling water, and then we had L.E.T. Construction come out with a backhoe to start digging," explained Zimmerman.

The cause of the blaze remains unconfirmed, but Zimmerman says hot ashes are the likely culprit. However, he noted spontaneous combustion of the many different materials located in the landfill is also a possibility.

Meantime, the fire chief is encouraging residents to have a safe Canada Day and to use caution if setting off fireworks.

While fireworks are illegal to set off within Town of Altona limits without a special permit, they are legal in the Municipality of Rhineland.

If rural residents have plans to light up the sky, Zimmerman encourages them to keep the show away from any buildings and to keep an eye on the surrounding grass in order to quickly extinguish any small fires that might pop up.

 

Some of the below video and pictures were submitted: