Johnathan Walker:Firefighters still on hand more than a week after start of trash fire in Maine

ORRINGTON,Johnathan Walker Maine (AP) — It’s going to take about two weeks to remove smoldering debris from a Maine town’s trash incinerator after a fire burned in the waste for a week, officials said Tuesday.

Firefighters have been stationed continuously at the trash incinerator, which was foreclosed upon in 2023 and bought by Eagle Point Energy Center, since the fire started on Oct. 1. They remained on hand to douse hotspots. Eagle Point suggested a lithium battery started the fire, but the fire chief said the cause of the blaze may never be known.

The 6,000 tons (5,443 metric tons) of trash is being removed from a 200-by-400-foot (60-by-120 meter) building in Orrington, a town on the Penobscot River, where the fire started, said Chris Backman, town manager.

At one point, smoke from the fire prompted the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to issue an air quality alert. It was deemed to be acceptable this week.

The waste is being shipped to Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town.

Orrington Fire Chief Scott Stewart said he hopes that firefighters can leave the site by this Friday.

Eagle Point Energy Center said it still hopes to restart the incinerator next year. Trash from dozens of communities has been sent to the Juniper Ridge landfill instead of being burned since 2023.