A burning pile of mulch IV

Ken Rodriguez, columnist for the Express-News, takes on the state and local authorities who told the owner of that burning pile of mulch that it was all square with regulations -- and that it posed no danger -- for so long.

Nineteen months before a mountainous heap of compost began burning, an inspector from the county Fire Marshal's office said the 60-foot high pile could not burst into flames.

"There is a recurring complaint about that place (on Henry Zumwalt's property), but it is not a fire hazard at all," inspector Kevin Walton told Express-News reporter Amanda Reimherr on June 22, 2005. "The pile is about 75 percent dirt, so that prevents any fires."

The heap that couldn't catch fire has been burning since Christmas, 28 days ago.

I bet the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality changes some of their regulations after this.