Calgary Landfill Fire Tracker Built by The Automators
Checking the City of Calgary…

Day 18 of the ECCO landfill fire

Reading the wind over southeast Calgary…

Wind
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PM2.5 near the site
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Mixing height How high smoke can rise and spread out. Below about 300 m, smoke stays close to the ground.
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Temperature
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Now

Where the smoke has gone since September 6

How many hours a day, on average, the wind has carried smoke toward each Calgary community. It's worked out from the wind measured beside the site every hour since the fire began.

  1. Adding up the hours…

“Smoke likely” means the wind was blowing from the fire toward that community, strongly enough for smoke to arrive. It shows how often smoke came, not how thick it was: the fire gave off more smoke on some days than others.

Air quality

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from smoke is the main air quality concern from this fire, according to Alberta Environment and Protected Areas.

Calgary Air Quality Health Index

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Monitoring stations near the fire

StationFrom fireAQHIPM2.5
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Fine particulate (PM2.5) near the fire, µg/m³

What the numbers mean for you

Health messages from Environment and Climate Change Canada's AQHI. For landfill-specific readings, see Alberta's air quality page.

What's in the smoke

Alberta checks the air two ways: monitors that measure around the clock, and one-hour air samples sent to a lab for more than 100 compounds.

Measured around the clock

Fine particulate (PM2.5) is the only pollutant that has gone over Alberta's guidelines, according to the province. The gases below come from the air lab at Barlow Solar Park, 1.2 km from the fire.

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Share of Alberta's one-hour objective. Alberta air quality map

Lab samples

A one-hour sample taken at the burning pile on September 9 found four compounds above Alberta's one-hour objectives. Samples away from the pile, including one 600 m downwind, were within limits.

At the fire site, Sept. 9MeasuredObjective
BenzeneForms when plastics, fuels and other materials burn. Also in vehicle exhaust.219 ppb9 ppb
AcroleinForms when wood, paper and other materials burn. A strong eye and throat irritant.19 ppb1.9 ppb
Hydrogen sulphideThe rotten-egg smell. Construction landfills produce it as drywall breaks down.30.7 ppb10 ppb
StyreneReleased when polystyrene plastics, like foam insulation and packaging, burn.102 ppb52 ppb
  • 600 m downwind, Sept. 9. No compounds above Alberta's objectives.
  • Upwind and downwind, Sept. 13. No compounds above Alberta's objectives.

Source: Alberta Environment and Protected Areas data summary. Results are preliminary.

What it means: Alberta's public health officials say the overall risk to the general Calgary population is low. The highest exposures are right downwind during smoky periods. The sample over the objectives was taken at the pile itself, where the public doesn't go. Provincial statement

Where things stand

From the City of Calgary and Calgary Fire Department, checked every 10 minutes.

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How it unfolded

Official milestones from the City of Calgary, with key reporting alongside.

    About the site

    What's burning, the site's history, and where the legal proceedings stand. Each point links to its source.

    The fire is in a dry-waste landfill run by ECCO Recycling & Energy Corp. at 10114 24 Street SE, between Quarry Park and the Shepard industrial area. The same property holds an active recycling facility for construction and demolition material. CBC

    It's a Class III landfill, licensed by the province for inert waste only. ECCO says it hasn't taken new material since 2024 and holds lumber, drywall and similar debris, not household garbage. Firefighters have reported small explosions from burning aerosol cans. Calgary Herald

    It isn't the site's first fire. Crews fought fires there in 2014, 2019 and 2022. The 2022 fire grew to about four football fields and led to a special air quality statement. CBC

    Earlier coverage of the site

      1. December 2025

        ECCO is convicted on three Land Use Bylaw counts and fined $30,000. Its appeal was dismissed in June 2026. CBC

      2. September 11, 2026

        A Court of King's Bench injunction orders ECCO to stop storing dry waste outside permitted areas of its recycling site and to remove it. The judge found "an open and continuous disregard" of the rules, but declined the City's requests for daily penalties and a lockout. The order doesn't cover the landfill. CBC

      3. September 16, 2026

        The City lays four new charges against ECCO and its president. The first court date is November 23. Charges are allegations and haven't been proven in court. CBC

      4. Pending

        A separate City application asks the court to order the landfill closed and decommissioned. ECCO has until October 14 to respond. CBC

      5. Cause

        Undetermined. The City alleges a deputy fire chief saw ECCO dumping more debris near the fire on September 9. ECCO disputes that and has asked investigators to consider arson. Calgary Herald

      6. Province

        Alberta is checking with the City whether any prohibited materials were on site, and is reviewing its rules for waste storage sites. Calgary Herald

      7. Cost

        The fire chief says ECCO will be billed for the response and the cost will be "very significant." No figure has been released. Calgary Herald

      Coverage

      Reporting from Calgary and national outlets, refreshed automatically.

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      From the scene

      If smoke reaches you

      Advice from the Calgary Fire Department's health advisory of September 11.

      • Keep windows and doors closed, including attached garage doors.
      • Turn furnace fans to the minimum setting, and use the highest-efficiency filter your system can take.
      • Avoid ventilation or whole-house fans that pull outdoor air in. Keep air conditioner fresh-air intakes closed.
      • Close fireplace dampers.
      • Run a good air cleaner or purifier if you have one.
      • Cut back on physical activity, indoors and out, as needed.
      • Check on family and neighbours who may be more sensitive to smoke.

      Children, seniors, pregnant people and anyone with asthma, heart disease or other conditions should limit outdoor activity and go indoors if they see or smell smoke.

      811

      Health Link. A registered nurse can answer questions about smoke exposure and symptoms like eye, nose or throat irritation, coughing or headaches.

      911

      Emergencies only. Chest pain, severe trouble breathing, or fire spreading beyond the landfill. Crews are already on site, so smoke alone doesn't need a 911 call.

      Common questions

      Is the fire out?

      No. The City describes it as under control, meaning it is contained within the landfill site and doesn't present an immediate risk of spreading beyond the facility. Suppression continues.

      Why is there still smoke if the fire is under control?

      Landfill fires burn below the surface. Smoke increases for a while each time crews dig into buried hot spots to put them out. The City calls these flare-ups an expected part of the process.

      Why are crews using dirt instead of water?

      Covering burning material with soil is the standard approach for deep-seated landfill fires because it cuts off oxygen. Water is used on hot spots, but too much softens access roads, erodes soil that's already been placed and doesn't reach fire deep in the pile.

      How long will it last?

      Fire Chief Steve Dongworth said on September 16 that the incident "could last weeks or even months until onsite fire risk is fully mitigated," with occasional flare-ups along the way.

      Is my drinking water affected?

      There are no drinking water advisories related to the fire. City crews are pumping runoff from the site into the wastewater system so it's treated before reaching the river.

      What caused the fire?

      The cause is under investigation.

      Why does smoke seem worse at night and early morning?

      Two reasons. Air near the ground often goes still overnight, trapping smoke low (you'll see this on this page as a low mixing height). And crews limit heavy-equipment movement in the dark for safety, so small fires can build before they're knocked down at first light.

      Can I fly a drone to see it?

      No. Transport Canada prohibits drones within the perimeter of an emergency operation, and fines can reach $3,000 for individuals. The fire department has reported unauthorized drones over the site.

      For reporters and researchers

      Everything here is free to use and updates on its own. Please credit the Calgary Landfill Fire Tracker with a link.

      Download the data

      Files are CSV. Add &format=json to any link for JSON. The underlying data belongs to the sources listed in How this tracker works, so check their terms before republishing raw data.

      Embed a live chart

      Smoke near the site, day by day

      Where the smoke has gone, by community

      For a single community’s live outlook, open it above, choose Share, then “Put a live widget on a website”.

      How this tracker works

      This page pulls from public sources and refreshes on its own. It is not an official source. For decisions about your health, follow the City of Calgary, Alberta Health Services and Alberta Environment and Protected Areas.

      The smoke map is an estimate. For the past and the present it uses wind measured at the province's air monitors beside the site; for the next 48 hours it uses forecast wind and mixing height. It projects smoke downwind from the landfill, but doesn't model terrain, buildings or how much smoke the fire is producing at a given moment. Treat it as a guide to direction, not concentration.

      Air readings come straight from the monitors, including the mobile lab and portable units Alberta placed around the fire. Those readings are preliminary and haven't been through the province's full quality checks.