(CMR) The Cayman Islands landfill is on fire with road closures and evacuations at Lakeside Apartments now occurring. The police have just confirmed that the portion of Esterly Tibbetts Highway from North Sound road into the Butterfield roundabout leading up to Camana Bay is now closed.
Cayman Island International School and George Town Primary Schools are now closed for school tomorrow. Mounting concerns are that the fire is spreading and additional areas will be evacuated. Please follow us on our Facebook or Instagram page for ongoing real-time updates.
Yesterday another George Town landfill (Mount Trashmore) fire started in the early afternoon shortly after 1:00 pm. The Cayman Islands Fire Service was on the scene and worked diligently to get the surface blaze under control. Early reports indicated that the dump was closed for several hours while they worked on bringing the fire under control.
Today, the fire appears to have re-emerged with a vengeance today with numbers persons around the island sending CMR photos from across the island as far as the Kimpton on West Bay Road. From the footage sent there appears to be more than one portion on the landfill that is actually ablaze.
One person sent a photograph of their view when they just landed on the British Airways flight this evening. Other vides came from the airport and next door at Lakeside Apartments – where some residents are now considering evacuating for the evening.
The Cayman Islands Fire Service is reporting that the incident they were called to attend at the George Town landfill this morning has become an escalating, challenging fire fanned by strong winds. A large smoke plume is now very visible and is likely to have an impact on residents and businesses. Fire Service has more resources heading to the scene and will provide updates as information becomes available. Fire Service officials describe the situation as very dynamic and indicate CIFS is doing all it can to contain and prevent further escalation.
Firefighters from West Bay were on the scene yesterday with high winds making the situation more challenging. This is the second weekend in a row that the dump has been on fire with the Department of Environmental Health continuing to struggle to find a long term solution.
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