Multiple fire departments responded to a fire at the borough landfill south of town early Thursday morning.
The fire was called in at about 3:30 a.m. and was burning in an area where people dump their household trash, according to Fairbanks fire Battalion Chief Scott Raygor.
“It was at the very top of the hill. We came down Easy Street past the athletic club, and the whole hillside was glowing. You could see it all over town,” Raygor said by phone Thursday afternoon.
The fire had burned an area of about 200 feet by 100 feet by the time crews arrived.
Units from Chena-Goldstream, Steese Volunteer, University and Fort Wainwright fire departments helped Fairbanks firefighters put it out.
It took approximately two hours and 10,000 gallons of water to quench the blaze.
“It was mostly frozen but it was still burning,” Raygor said, adding that there were a lot of tires and plastic in the area. “It was thick, black, nasty smoke, but fortunately we were able to stay upwind of it.”