Durban - Msunduzi officials are hoping to extinguish the remainder of the fire that has been burning for more than three days at the New England Road dump site in Pietermaritzburg. A fire broke out at the site on Friday, causing large black clouds to billow through the city.
According to municipal spokesperson Thobeka Mafumbatha about 70% of the fire had been extinguished and firefighters planned to work through the night.
Excavators have been on site digging up the waste to ensure that the source of the fire is found and extinguished.
“At this point, we are hopeful that if all goes well the fire will be extinguished soon,” Mafumbatha said.
The fire at the New England Road landfill site started on Friday and firefighters from uMgungundlovu and eThekwini municipalities were called in to assist Msunduzi firefighters.
Residents living in close proximity to the Msunduzi landfill site said the acrid plume of smoke had left some of them struggling to breathe.
When The Mercury visited the site on Monday, smoke could be seen from the entrance, while municipal water tankers entered to deliver water to fire engines.
Residents living near the site have complained about the toxic fumes and smoke emanating from the dump.
The site has been the epi-centre of a number of environmentally-harmful fires in the past six months, forcing the Department of Economic Development, Trade and Environmental Affairs to hand down a hefty fine to the municipality last year.
Department MEC Nomusa Dube Ncube said at that time there were a number of non-compliance issues and the municipality was warned on numerous occasions.