A burning pile of mulch II

The state of Texas has now declared that it will pay a contractor to put out that giant burning mulch pile in Helotes.

From WOAI-TV:

[Texas Commission on Environmental Quality] officials are hiring a Pasadena, Texas-based company called Oil Mop to put out the compost fire, officials said.

According to the company's estimated timeline, crews will spend this week prepping the site with its equipment and workers. Oil Mop crews will begin dismantling the stock pile January 14th and will continue that process through the following nine days. They hope to have the fire extinguished by January 24th, according to the timeline.

Cost to the state: $1.7 million. Let's hope Oil Mop does what it claims it can do. This fire looks to be a bit out of their field of expertise, but they are probably better qualified than the owner of the pile to tackle the situation.