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<br /> 2 ** _ _ Friday, October 25,2002
<br /> reement,several
<br /> Tire fire - n were dismissed
<br /> < r judge during Jan. 16
<br /> id.
<br /> The fire at the S.P. to investigation
<br /> damage Royster Tire Dis- +hen the county
<br /> poral site,started ulari[ies and con-
<br /> b
<br /> y an employee - Christine vovakes
<br /> tl to cutting weeds,
<br /> Yburned from August
<br /> =n
<br /> 1998 to December in burglaries
<br /> tan suspected in
<br /> 2000 near Tracy. 8 hours was arrested
<br /> clean up �� ��
<br /> ?11
<br /> The site is estimated
<br /> _pat the wheel in a
<br /> to have contained 7
<br /> of on the brake,
<br /> After smoldering for 9' million tires over 52
<br /> acres.The state may 28,is accused of
<br /> two years, the site be stuck with S7 ificials said.
<br /> near Tracy is soaked million in penalties, r phones,car ste
<br /> K $10 million in future ols,Social Security
<br /> with poisonous oil. „ h.. cleanup costs,plus senses and nine sets
<br /> ON
<br /> hundreds ofthou- early Wednesday.
<br /> By Walt Wiley sands more already 11 of felony burglary,
<br /> BEE STAFF WRITER spent. Ig stolen property
<br /> State officials are arranging els,a jail official
<br /> g g
<br /> Sacramento Bee file,
<br /> for the cleanup of the remaining 2000/Lezlie Sterling 3t other people stole
<br /> fire damage at the S.F. Royster n in exchange for
<br /> Tire Disposal site. Regulations for Whatever to collect the costs, iff's Detective Mark
<br /> happened The fire burned from August bid such an arrange- estimated as high as
<br /> 1998 to December 2000 near ment,but the dump $20 million. turn the property to
<br /> Tracy,where the state is seeking itself was illegal. ... At the Royster He's the Robin Hood
<br /> contractors to perform the As the flames site, the state may
<br /> work. raced through the be stuck for $7 mil- -Associated Press
<br /> "We're in the process of con- mass of rubber, lion in penalties,
<br /> tracting for the jobs, and we'll black smoke spread $10 million in future
<br /> probably see the work begin in in an opaque pall cleanup costs, plus �AR�
<br /> the spring,” said Lanny southward into the ...the giant Tracy hundreds of thou-
<br /> Clavecilla, spokesman for the San Joaquin Valley tire fire? sands more already , music of the River
<br /> state Integrated Waste Manage- as far as Patterson. spent on cleanup. erform a free concert
<br /> ment Board. The smoke was visible from Royster died two weeks after Stomas Library,2901
<br /> The Royster site, named for Mount Diablo and Yosemite. the fire started, and his estate ay tunes from days of
<br /> the late owner,Silas F. Royster, The heaps of rubber eventu- eventually was determined to ecorders, haut reeds
<br /> was estimated to have con- ally burned down to foul ashes be worth less than$100,000. freshments will be
<br /> tained 7 million tires in piles as and a tangle of steel beads and Furthermore,at just about the ,call (916)264-2920.
<br /> high as 50 feet in gravel pits belts from the incinerated tires, time he died,the U.S.attorney's xual Assault and Do-
<br /> spread over 52 acres. while rivers of black,poisonous office in Sacramento charged -sent its Harvest Lun-
<br /> Big as it was, it was dwarfed pyrolitic oil from the tires Royster with tax fraud,and cred
<br /> Ho-
<br /> by the Filbin Tire site a few soaked the ground beneath the y p.m.Friday at the
<br /> �i h $20
<br /> miles to the south at Westley,in fire. ors lined up with claims loodland.Cost is$20
<br /> Stanislaus County, where Ed- A similar situation occurred against the estate. rmation, call (530)
<br /> ward Filbin once amassed an es- at the Filbin site in September Regardless of who eventually
<br /> timated 40 million tires. 1999 when lightning struck a pays for the cleanup,the state is r;Join the Yuba His-
<br /> That pile was so huge that an metal ramp, setting a fire that going ahead with it, Clavecilla New Colgate Power-
<br /> energy company built a power promised to burn as unabated as said. :he Dobbins Country
<br /> plant next to the tires and the Royster fire. "It still has to be cleaned up, ins Road in Dobbins,
<br /> bought the tires to use as fuel to But the U.S. Environmental so we're going to do it,"he said. iter and warm cloth-
<br /> generate electricity. Protection Agency put up more "We'll see who pays what once or shine.For further
<br /> In both cases, the owners of than $2.4 million to hire Texas it's all done." Ill(530)692-1898.
<br /> the piles amassed fortunes for al- oil field fire experts to douse the Estimated cost for environ-
<br /> lowing tire dealers to toss their flames, which burned for 34 mental and engineering services
<br /> discards onto the heap as a con- days. for the cleanup is$1 million,he MIGHT
<br /> venient way to dispose of the Then workers installed catch said, while the actual remedia-
<br /> waste products, dams,containment ponds and a tion probably will cost $9 mil- ;knowledge errors
<br /> In the case of the Royster fire, network of pipes to carry rainwa- lion. tppear on page A2
<br /> an employee cutting weeds set it ter past the contaminated areas 11 El El ire the error oc-
<br /> off, and a lack of firefighting to prevent the spread of the oil
<br /> lanes through the piles made it residue from the fires. The Bee's Walt Wiley can be lid be called to
<br /> impossible to combat the The Filbin site has since been reached at(916)321-1063 or le g Editor
<br /> or s
<br /> flames,officials said at the time. cleaned, and the state has sued wwiley@sacbee.com. or lebar@
<br />
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