Large Mulch Pile Still Smoldering

A large pile of mulch that began burning early Tuesday morning at Cowart Mulch Products in south Forsyth County is still smoldering as of Friday afternoon [Sept. 28].

"It's not nearly the size of the fire that it was earlier in the week, but there's still some active fire in it," said Division Chief Jason Shivers of the Forsyth County Fire Department. "It is smoldering producing some smoke in the area, but certainly not to the point where it's a nuisance any further to the surrounding area or commuters.

The pile of mulch, located adjacent to GA 400 near Shiloh Road, is expected to continue to smolder for several more days.

Shivers said the pile that's burning is made up of raw products like limbs, logs and stumps. He also said initially it was pretty significant in size – about 50 feet tall and covering about one acre of land.

"We are confident by experience that the fire was likely started just through a natural form of combustion," he said.

Shivers attributes that process to the changing of the seasons that causes mulch piles to produce its own form of heat.

"Sometimes to the point of producing combustion and we feel confident that's what happened in this case," he said.

Authorities thought it would be best to allow the pile to burn on its own, though the fire department did put water on it to keep it contained and away from other mulch piles.

"Once we had confidence that the pile was going to be contained to itself we left it alone and essentially let it burn itself out and that's what brings us to where we are today," Shivers said.

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