Facility Site ID: 51358721 Cleanup Site ID: 16994

Work Ongoing To Put Out Underground Fire, Full Investigation To Follow

Drone photo of the landfill, June 2024
Drone photo of the landfill, June 2024

In August 2023, the Gray Road Fire burned in and around the Medical Lake community, including parts of DSHS’s Eastern State Hospital property and the landfill area. After the Gray Road Fire was out, DSHS staff discovered the historic landfill was burning underground.

Spokane County Fire District 3 attempted to put the fire out with water. After several months of failed attempts, Fire District 3 decided to leave the fire over the winter, hoping it would burn out in the cooler weather and snow.

On February 8, 2024, Fire District 3 reported the underground fire through our Environmental Reports Tracking System. We completed an initial investigation and added the landfill to the Contaminated Sites List the next day. On February 12, we notified the DSHS of the landfill being added to the list.

Radioactive material was initially suspected due to the landfill being near a hospital. Scans completed by the Air Force reportedly did not detect radioactive material. The landfill appears to mostly contain tiles, concrete, insulation, and other building debris.

In the spring, the fire was still burning despite Fire District 3’s continued efforts. DSHS removed trees, brush, and other ignitable material around the smoldering area. DSHS put clean soil over the smoldering area. This action has been successful at controlling emissions and reducing the risks posed from open flames.

Fire District 3 continues to monitor the situation. We are working with our Air Quality Program to monitor air quality in the vicinity of the landfill. We are regularly monitoring surface temperatures with a drone.

We began negotiating a legal agreement called an Agreed Order to put the fire out in May 2024, and held a public comment period on the draft order and the Public Participation Plan Oct. 14 through Nov. 14, 2024. We responded to comments from three people and appreciate their input.

Further steps in the Agreed Order to put the fire out include:

  • Continuing to restrict all public access to the site
  • Identifying the extent of elevated temperatures or fire in the subsurface
  • Developing a plan to excavate and hose down any burning material in metal boxes
  • The following actions, if needed:
    • Properly disposing excavated waste and soil
    • Removing contaminated building or other structural material
    • Capping waste
    • Cleaning up groundwater
    • Installing systems to catch runoff to protect West Medical Lake and stabilize the shoreline

After confirming the fire is out, DSHS will fully investigate the contents of the landfill and whether they have contaminated soil and groundwater. The feasibility study will evaluate options for cleaning up the landfill and any contamination it has caused. These activities are required by the Agreed Order.

Landfill History

Washington state has operated the Eastern State Hospital since around 1891. Sometime before 1975, buildings were demolished and buried on the property, about 100 feet from West Medical Lake. When the demolished buildings were buried, no solid waste regulations in Washington applied to this material, and landfilling was standard practice when buildings were torn down. 
Legal 3
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Agreed Order for IA & RI/FS: ESH Landfill 10/14/2024 Agreed Order
Eastern State Hospital Final PLP Status Letter 4/15/2024 Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter
WA DSHS Eastern State Hospital - ENL 2/12/2024 Early Notice Letter
Public Information 3
Technical Reports 6
Document Title Document Date Document Type
16994 WADSH Eastern State Hospital 20240919 9/19/2024 Site Hazard Assessment Report
Eastern State Hospital Landfill - Preliminary Determination of Liability for Release 3/14/2024 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
WA DSHS Eastern State Hospital - Ecology Initial Investigation 2/9/2024 Initial Investigation Report
WA DSHS Eastern State Hospital - Report of Findings for the Analysis of Leachable RCRA Metals 12/6/2023 Site Specific Technical Document - other
WA DSHS Eastern State Hospital - Findings for the Analysis of Leachable Lead Content 12/5/2023 Site Specific Technical Document - other
WA DSHS Eastern State Hospital - Asbestos Survey 12/5/2023 Site Specific Technical Document - other
There may be more documents related to this site. To obtain documents not available electronically, you will need to make a public records request.

Places to see print documents

  • Eastern Regional Office
    N 4601 Monroe St
    Spokane, 99205-1265
    Please schedule an appointment to view print documents at this location.

Contaminants 7

Contaminant Type
Soil
Groundwater
Surface Water
Air
Sediment
Bedrock
Metals - Metals - Other S
Non-Halogenated Organics - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons S
Other Contaminant - Radioactive Wastes S
Metals - Arsenic S
Metals - Lead S
Metals - Mercury S
Non-Halogenated Organics - Other Non-Halogenated Organics S
S
Suspected
C
Confirmed Above Cleanup Levels
B
Below Cleanup Levels
RA
Remediated-Above
RB
Remediated-Below
R
Remediated
This contaminant list was based on our best information at the time it was entered. It may not reflect current conditions at the site.