Fire closes Dooen Hard Waste facility
Published on 22 December 2020
A fire first detected on Friday 18 December continues to burn in the Dooen Hard Waste facility, forcing the closure of the site.
The incident is being managed by the CFA and significant progress has been made on controlling the fire, but hotspots within the waste mass are still present.
The fire is fully contained on the site, which is located on the south side of Ladlows Road, Dooen. The fire has not burnt outside the waste material and adjoining properties are not at risk.
Crews worked hard on Sunday to open up areas of buried waste and an aerial pump tanker was brought in from Warrnambool to pump water into the burning areas.
The incident response is being supported by local CFA volunteers, Fire Rescue Victoria personnel, local contractors and Council staff. Environment Protection Agency staff have also been involved over the weekend, both on-site and via telephone.
Horsham Rural City Council Chief Executive Officer Sunil Bhalla says while the facility is closed, alternative sites are still open to accept hard waste.
“Hard waste can still be taken to the Horsham transfer station, and also to the Dooen Landfill for a limited period,” he said.
“The main landfill site on the north side of Ladlows Road remains unaffected, and hence Council’s household garbage collection services will continue without impact. Recycling collection services are also not impacted by this fire.”
“Council will liaise with the region’s waste contractors over the next couple of days to determine ongoing arrangements for other waste services.”
Due to the presence of a significant number of vehicles managing this incident, Ladlows Road between the Henty Highway and Blue Ribbon Road remains temporarily closed.
People are asked to seek an alternative route and follow detour signage. Updates on this road closure can be monitored on the VicTraffic website.
Work is continuing on site today to get the fire under control. The site will be closely monitored over coming weeks to ensure any potential flare-ups can be responded to quickly.
The cause of the fire is unknown.