Fire destroys machinery and spreads to compost pile at St. Helena solid waste landfill

A fire Tuesday morning destroyed a machine and spread to a compost pile at a St. Helena solid waste disposal facility, firefighters said.

Cal Fire responded around 12:40 a.m. to what was initially reported as a commercial structure fire at Upper Valley Disposal and Recycling at 1285 Whitehall Lane, Napa County Deputy Fire Marshal Eric Hernandez said.

Firefighters arrived about 10 minutes later and discovered a trommel screen, a machine used to separate various materials such as compost and trash, and a nearby compost pile were on fire. No flames spread to the structures.

Crews extinguished the machinery fire in about 20 minutes and extinguished flames in the compost pile shortly afterward, after spreading the large pile using some of the facility's equipment, Hernandez said.

Cal Fire is still determining the cause of the flames, although investigators know the fire started on the trommel screen.

Upper Valley Disposal & Recycling Services, which provides waste services to Calistoga, St. Helena and Yountville, was the subject of a December 2023 complaint filed with state authorities by two dozen former and current reports accusing the company of unsafe labor and environmental practices.

The company is the former operator of the troubled Clover Flat landfill near Calistoga.

You can contact staff writer Madison Smalstig at [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @madi.smals.