The Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office released a report regarding the findings of its investigation into the Landfill (Stinky) Fire. According to the report, the City of Amarillo appears to have received it in August, but it’s possible the city was seeking some additional information.
We (Michael J. Stevens) made an Open Records Request for the report just after noon Monday and had it by 4 p.m. After confirming our copy was identical to theirs, the City of Amarillo made the report available to the public Tuesday morning.
The report - dated August 14 - notes the investigation was requested by Mayor Cole Stanley. Due to active conditions at the Amarillo Landfill at the time, the investigator, Sgt. Kelly Vandygriff, was not able to properly access the landfill to rule out or determine a probable cause of the fire that destroyed more than 50 homes. It does suggest a former City employee was looked at as possibly starting the fire based on social media posts attributed to him. Sgt. Vandygriff ruled out that possibility.
The report lists the cause of the Landfill Fire as “Undetermined” and the report ends with “This case is CLOSED.”