Is the landfill burning?

I found this portion of a news story online. It's about a landfill in San Francisco that was in 2000 burning undergound.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Navy announced Tuesday that metals and petroleum have been found in the ground and benzene in the air around a landfill which has been burning underground for four weeks. It was not immediately known whether those materials found at Hunter’s Point Shipyard were present at levels harmful to the public and the Navy continued to evaluate the results. Navy officials also announced they had hired a landfill expert in hopes of finding a way to put out the smoldering fire that has troubled residents in the Hunter’s Point area of the city and frustrated the Environmental Protection Agency which maintains that the military waited too long, more than three weeks, to tell anyone about the problem.

I also found a whole series of stories from SF Weekly.com, starting with this one, from 1998. On the site you can also access the whole series of reports about this landfill.

And then there's this, about a landfill in Ohio with an underground fire:

Those issues include a determination by an EPA consultant that the landfill has two fires smoldering underground, and that's causing carbon monoxide, heat and odor.

A landfill neighbor at the meeting last night said that when she went to the hospital because of dizziness, they found carbon monoxide in her blood.

I'm not saying the Crow Lane landfill is burning, but where there's smell of fire (no matter what the mayor says) there's usually a fire.

Oh, and then there's this, also from the Ohio story:

State Sen. Kirk Schuring, R-Canton, said, "I think (the EPA) came to the right decision through analysis of the situation and an understanding of the magnitude of the problem."

In a Jan. 25 letter to Korleski, Schuring requested the landfill's operating permit be delayed, suspended or denied until problems are corrected.

"I'm very happy with the recommendation to not renew at this time," said State Rep. Allan R. Sayre, D-Dover. "It's refreshing to have a director who is truly out for the best interest of the people."

State Sen. John Boccieri, D-New Middletown, said Countywide has to be forced into compliance, though that doesn't mean the landfill should be shut down permanently. He said it's important the Ohio EPA regulate such nuisances instead of putting the burden of proof on citizens.