Smell, smoke from mulch fire causes concern in Ontario

ONTARIO, Calif. (KABC) -- Ontario residents are complaining about the smell of a mulch fire and are concerned about the health effects from the smoke.

The intense smoke is something residents have been dealing with for four days because a nearby recycling facility is burning the mulch.

Many parents who walk their kids to school said they are worried about their children's health as well.

The fire started late Saturday night at Beneficial AG Services at the corner of Grove and Chino avenues. On Tuesday, the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory. The district is also testing the air quality at a nearby school.

"We have smelled it ourselves. It's rather obvious," said Sam Atwood, media relations manager for the district. "We have not seen particularly high levels at this monitor. That doesn't mean people should still not take precautions."

The Ontario Fire Department said the owner of the property now has to go through all of their mulch, bucket by bucket, to make sure it has cooled off. That's about three to five acres of mulch piles and some are nearly 25-feet high.

"We just had a briefing and a consultation with the business owner. They have been working this 24-7 since the fire. We have confirmation of that. It's just a long tedious process to break all that down," Deputy Chief Mike Pelletier said.

The fire department said the owner has cleared about half of those mulch piles, and it could be another two days before the entire pile is gone.