Amarillo's landfill left waste uncovered weeks before a fire there destroyed 52 homes
On April 30, 2026, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) investigated a complaint about improperly covered waste at the City of Amarillo landfill. Landfill staff told investigators that cover equipment had broken down about a month earlier and that they could not cover waste as fast as it came in. TCEQ issued a notice of violation for failing to apply the required daily earthen cover, which the notice says helps control fires. In May, the Stinky Fire started at the landfill and destroyed 52 homes. TCEQ records show complaints about the landfill going back to 2003. In July the city said it would not comment until its own operational review, a fire department after-action report and a State Fire Marshal investigation were finished. In September the council took up City Manager Grayson Path's resignation; no findings have been released.
According to the investigation report, landfill officials told TCEQ investigators that equipment used to cover waste had broken down about a month earlier.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality conducted an investigation on May 7 and confirmed a violation involving the city's landfill operations.
The city of Amarillo released a statement today saying it will have no comment on the Stinky Fire until several ongoing reviews are complete.
The Stinky fire, which started in May and destroyed 52 homes, began in the city's landfill just weeks after a complaint was filed with the TCEQ.
City said it cannot comment on specific operational issues until ongoing reviews of the fire are complete.
Called TCEQ's delayed notice 'a pretty poor system' and said the community will expect the highest accountability.
No outcome recorded yet.