CHARLESTON -- Mississippi County still doesn't know what the tire fire this spring will ultimately cost -- or when it will be completely out even.
County Clerk Junior DeLay said during the Mississippi County Commission's regular meeting Thursday that the county still hasn't received a bill from MidWest Environmental Resources for extinguishing the fire burning in the pile of tires collected by county workers from ditches and and roadsides over a period of years.
The initial response which included moving dirt over the tires ended up creating a "crust," according to Carlin Bennett, presiding county commissioner, under which the tires continue to smolder.
"The first time they went out and scooped, it flared back up," said Mitch Pullen, commissioner.
And the Charleston Department of Public Safety responded at the end of last week with a brush truck to extinguish flames, county officials said.
Bill James Excavating will reportedly haul the tires to a landfill but can't begin until the landfill dries out as it is presently too muddy from recent rains, according to commissioners.
DeLay also advised commissioners the county should soon be receiving a insurance payment of about $26,000 for the county's equipment losses.
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