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Washington City resident says underground landfill fire is harming health; mayor says DEQ will inspect
Summary
At the quarterly public forum a resident reported severe health effects she attributes to an underground landfill fire; the mayor said state waste management officials will visit the site with city staff and fire personnel and the city will report back with any public updates.
During the public forum at the July 8 regular meeting, resident Caitlin (Kaelin) Hershey testified that an underground fire at the OMP landfill has caused severe and ongoing health problems for her and her young son since June 2025. Hershey described repeated daily headaches, emergency‑room visits for anaphylactic hives and breathing problems and long‑term medical treatment she said has been necessary.
"My health has been severely impacted by the underground fire releasing toxic chemicals into the air," Hershey said, listing symptoms and costly medication trials and warning that others are affected as well. The mayor told Hershey that Jaylen Knudson and Division Director Ted Sonnenberg from the Utah Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control will visit the OMP site with the fire chief and city manager; the city will determine what updates to provide the public after that visit.
No technical findings were reported at the meeting; the promised DEQ site visit is the next step the city identified.
