A state of emergency has been lifted in Six Nations as cleanup continues at the Six Nations Landfill.
Band officials lifted the state of emergency Monday evening.
It had been effect since last Friday – two days after fire broke out in an area of the landfill used for dangerous goods like paint and propane tanks.
Elaine Warner saw it from her nearby recycling business.
“It wasn’t a very large fire, but the smoke was the blackest smoke I’ve ever seen,” she said.
According to the Six Nations elected council, firefighters encountered multiple explosions before they were able to extinguish the flames.
Specialized crews have been brought in to remove the chemicals and dangerous goods themselves, which had accumulated over a period of two years.
Warner and her mother, Robin Maracle, have been calling for environmental action at the landfill for several years.
“I’m not shocked that something happened. This could have been much worse, and still might be,” Maracle said Monday.
They want to see more money allocated to clean up the dump site.
“They need to find out what went into the ground,” Warner said.
Officials in Six Nations expect cleanup to cost more than $100,000, and hope for provincial or federal assistance in paying that bill.
A temporary waste disposal site that was set up across the street will remain open Tuesday, with the landfill reopening to the public Wednesday.
