Landfill fires choke Da Lat with toxic fumes

The town in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has been smothered by smoke from a burning landfill since Monday.

Flames have been spouting from the Cam Ly landfill in Da Lat, which spans thousands of square meters, sending smoke and ash into the downtown area about 5 km away. The air in districts 2, 3, 4, 5, among others, had become cloudy and filled with the smell of burning nylon.

Several locals have left their homes and moved to their relatives' houses further away to avoid the smog.

"The smoke has covered the entire street and the vegetable gardens. We also get a very foul, unpleasant smell," said Nguyen Hung, who lives just a km away from the landfill.

The Da Lat Urban Service Company, which manages the Cam Ly landfill, has sent employees and water tanks to deal with the fire, but no impact has been seen thus far.

The fires will not severely affect the surrounding air quality, said Vo Ngoc Trinh, deputy chairman of the Da Lat People's Committee.

The Cam Ly landfill, spanning 11.8 ha, has been functioning for several decades. It takes in daily waste from the Da Lat and Lac Duong towns. In the last four years alone, the landfill has taken over 260,000 tons of garbage.

Da Lat, which has been referred to as "Le petit Paris," "City of Flowers" and so on, attracts nearly a million visitors a year.