"What's burning?"
Some residents in the Lake area were alarmed to find ash and smoke moving through their properties last week, with some taking to social media to complain.
The cause?
Osage Beach leaf-collection and yard/landscaping business, Leaf Vac had been burning pallets. And while owner Tony Cicerelli thought the fire had been fully extinguished, overnight it reignited, spreading to a large nearby leaf pile.
LakeExpo spoke with Cicerelli, who said he was surprised to hear of fire crews rushing to his business site, where they began dousing a massive pile of leaves. He said he keeps the leaves at the site legally and is permitted to burn, but this had not been an intentional leaf fire.
He apologized to any affected by the smoke and ash and emphasized how important it was to him to get the fire put out.
Fire crews knocked the blaze down quickly, but the fire had made its way deep into the pile and it was extremely difficult to completely extinguish: the pile continued to smolder and re-ignite for days. Cicerelli hired Ramboldt Excavation to bring large track equipment on-site; they exposed buried areas of fire so they could be extinguished.
Osage Beach Building Official Ron White told LakeExpo that Leaf Vac was not in violation of any city codes. He confirmed the fire appeared to have been accidental and said Cicerelli had made a substantial effort to get it put out.
Cicerelli told LakeExpo he had someone on site for a week, putting out hotspots in the smoking pile.
Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) inspectors came to the site this week; White and Cicerelli both confirmed DNR had found no violations at the site.
With dense deciduous forests all around the Lake area, leaf disposal is a perennial challenge for homeowners; annually, Ameren (the utility company that operates Bagnell Dam and regulates the Lake and shoreline) urges residents not to dump leaves in the Lake, as heavy concentrations can trigger algal blooms in coves. The dry, blustery weather of fall and winter can frequently lead to brush fires, which are fed by leaves: Cicerelli — who serves on the Osage Beach Fire Protection District Board — noted OBFPD responded to several brush fires the same day the district was working at his property.
He said he'd like to see the city develop a public-access yard waste center, where citizens can bring their yard debris. "They could charge for it, and I know businesses like mine would happily pay for it," he said, noting other municipalities have such a service, where they use the yard waste to create compost, which is then sold back to the public at a low price.
More than a week later, the leaf pile has finally been extinguished — and the smoke on social media appears to have settled too.
