Friday, March 29, 2002
EPA says 2 million tires burning
Tire fire set deliberately, officials say

The tire dump's owner, W.J. Keeling, said he had nothing to do with the fire.

By KIMBERLY O'BRIEN
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   The tire fire that's been burning for nearly a week in southern Roanoke County has been deemed arson, fire officials said Thursday.

    And a fire on W.J. Keeling's property last month was also deliberately set, leading investigators to suspect the same person might be involved, Roanoke County Fire Marshal Donald Gillispie said.

    The tricky part is figuring out a suspect. Fire investigators said they don't have one but haven't ruled out anyone.

    Keeling denies any involvement.

    "Hell, no, I didn't set the fire," he said Thursday from a relative's home. "It's not going to be pinned on me."

    The tires on Keeling's 140-acre property off Starlight Lane ignited Saturday afternoon after some brush along the road paralleling the railroad tracks caught fire. By Monday, when firefighters finally got the brush fire contained, it had consumed more than 1,000 acres on Buck Mountain. But the tires continue to burn.

    Investigators determined that sparks from a passing train did not cause the fire. Although a train went by about 3 p.m. Saturday , when the fire is thought to have started, the brush may have already been burning, Gillispie said.

    Not only did the fire burn 25 feet uphill from the road before jumping the tracks, which would be inconsistent with having been started by a train, it was also set in two places about 100 yards from each other, Gillispie said.

    The burn pattern, with some trees scorched only on the sides facing the road, indicates that the fire started at the road level, Gillispie said. Investigators also found a cigarette lighter but aren't sure if it's related to the fire. It's been sent to a lab for analysis.

    Finding a suspect could be difficult, Gillispie said.

    "An arson fire is very hard" to solve, he said. "It's not like the gun, the knife, used in an ordinary crime."

    Gillispie said the fire might have nothing to do with Keeling's tire dump and the battles he's had with Roanoke County officials wanting him to clean up the site. It might have been set by a "firebug" - someone who just wanted to see the area burn. Regardless, officials have been long worried that a major fire would break out.

    And a lot of people are mad over the site, Gillispie said.

    There have been seven fires on Keeling's property since 1974.

    Authorities have never been able to prove that Keeling has had anything to do with the fires on his property, Gillispie said.

    According to state Department of Environmental Quality documents, one reason government officials didn't move more aggressively to clean up his land - the largest illegal tire dump in the state - was fear that Keeling would set fire to it.

    Before the fire that started Saturday, the most recent was Feb. 21, when the old Keeling homestead on the property caught fire and burned about 6 acres. A few tires burned, but none of the big piles on the land.

    Gillispie said that fire - in an empty two-story, wood-frame house - was deliberately set. Firefighters were able to extinguish the resulting brush fire and keep it from the bulk of the tires, largely because the wind was blowing the wrong way, he said.

    Saturday, the wind was blowing just right to catch the tires on fire. And the culprit, Gillispie said, had "very good knowledge of what it would do." The flames shot into the air, crossed the tracks and headed for the tires.

    Keeling said he was working in an underground building on his property and didn't know about the fire until he saw firefighters. He said he doesn't know who set the fire, but said he wasn't the one.

    "How in the world can I set something on fire and walk away?" asked the 77-year-old Keeling, who said he's had a heart attack and three strokes. "I can barely walk, and that's got to be level."

    Thursday, representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency entered the tire fire site to begin determining their cleanup options. Wednesday, a federal judge granted permission for the EPA to go on the property, because Keeling wouldn't let them.

    Keeling said that was because he had already signed a contract with Roanoke County and the DEQ, and he didn't want to break it. The contract was made in November to allow the county and the DEQ to begin removing the tires. It basically became moot when the site caught fire, although the DEQ has said some money from a $1.4 million grant might still be available for the cleanup.

    The EPA, meanwhile, has committed $500,000 for emergency response and asked for $700,000 more. In court documents, on-scene coordinator Chris Wagner asked for permission to be on the property for 90 days, but it could be more, depending on the extent of the job. Officials are still trying to figure out what is there and how to take care of it.

    Wagner said Thursday that 6 acres are burning on the tire site, much of it smoldering from buried tires. There are three or four major piles, and those are in ravines that are hard to reach. She's estimated that about 2 million tires are burning.

    "I don't know if I'll ever know how many tires," she said.

    Wagner said the county made the right move initially to let the tires burn. Because they burned hot and fast, runoff was minimized. No runoff had escaped into Back Creek, officials said Thursday, and the air quality away from the tire site - despite the lingering smoke and odor - remained within acceptable limits.

    Asked whether he felt bad about the tire fire, Keeling wouldn't answer. He repeatedly blamed the county and said that if the county had moved faster, maybe as many tires wouldn't have burned.

    "It's the county's fault," Keeling said. "I have a contract that says they're responsible."

    News researcher Belinda Harris contributed to this report.

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