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Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality officials are still working to extinguish a fire at the Riverbend Landfill in Jefferson County that started last weekend and was still burning Thursday afternoon.

On Monday, Adams County Board of Supervisors members made alternate arrangements to have the county’s garbage collection contractor Metro Service Group utilize a Waste Management landfill near Sibley at a rate of $44 per ton.

Also on Monday, the Natchez Mayor and Board of Aldermen authorized the city’s waste collector Arrow Disposal Services Inc. to utilize the same Waste Management landfill on U.S. 61 at Sibley at a rate of $45 per ton.

“MDEQ has initiated actions to extinguish a significant fire at the Riverbend Landfill in Jefferson County,” said MDEQ spokesperson Robbie Wilbur on Thursday. “Progress is currently being made to extinguish hot spots and to contain the fire. The agency is unsure at present how deep the fire could extend within the landfill; consequently, we cannot predict how long it will take to completely extinguish the fire. It is our goal to have the fire extinguished as soon as possible.”

Wilbur said MDEQ does not know the exact source of the fire, and that fires can occur in landfills periodically based on a number of factors.

“The landfill operator is currently re-directing wastes to other disposal sites,” Wilbur said. “Community air monitoring outside the landfill indicated readings below recommended action levels.”