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January 27, 1999 Vol. 100 No. 259 JoaquinTracy, San I Cleanupof tsl* te st1* 11 on ho' .. Ben van der Meer enough to start, rather than just going in burning and smoking,although the flames cerns that pyrolytic oil,created by burning The Tracy Press there and causing it to flare up again." are reduced," she said. "I take a look, and tires, might contaminate the ground. The fire is now mostly limited to spo- we have monitoring devices set up to see "We've found a seam of impenetrable how much its still burning." clay underneath the soil that should keep The Tracy tine fire is on its last legs radic flare-ups along fissures in the con- Y P nearly six months after it began, but offi- gealed mass created by the fire's initial But even from looking at the fire regu- the oil from getting very far," Spagnole cials with the Environmental Protection intense heat. Flames three to four inches larly,she doesn't have a guess on how long said. He said that in addition to the clay, Agency won't set a date to start cleanup at high sprout up along the fissures, produc- it will last. "Nobody does," she said. the fire burned hot enough to destroy the site. ing a small amount of heat and smoke Officials fear that beginning a cleanup most of the created oil. "We've asked the U.S. EPA again and before burning themselves out. process before the fire has completely While there were also fears that hard h` again for a date,and they refuse to give us A registered environmental specialist burned out could create a bigger flare-up, rains could spread oil contamination, one said Jim Spagnole, a spokesman for with San Joaquin County's Environmental which would send a crew back to the Spagnole said an effect well-known to drawin board. anyone who's stored gravy overnight may ` the California office of the agency. Health Department, Kasey Foley, checks g "They're watching to see if it's cool the fire every two weeks. "It's still just There is good news in regard to con- See TIRES,page A8