On Thursday afternoon, May 21, City Manager Grayson Path spoke in a video shared on the City of Amarillo Facebook page to the community, regarding the wildfire response efforts, ongoing landfill operations and an investigation conducted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on the Amarillo landfill.
“Over the past several days, our community has been through an extremely difficult time,” he said. “There have been numerous fires in Randall and Potter Counties. … Homes have been lost. Property has been destroyed. There have been injuries, and many very close calls.”
“To each of you who has experienced loss due to the wildfires in past several days, I believe I can safely say on behalf of everyone in Amarillo, whether you live inside the city limits or not, that your pain is our pain,” he added. “We will do all we can to help you.”
As of 6:16 p.m. Thursday, the Texas A&M Forest Service said the Stinky Fire was fully contained, at 2,335 acres. The original landfill fire was initially contained at around five acres.
After expressing gratefulness for the response team who worked so hard to combat these fires, Path addressed some issues that he said had just come to light about an infraction with TCEQ involving the landfill, which serves the city of Amarillo as well as the surrounding community.
“Typically, our crews are there to detect a fire early, isolate it and put it out,” he said. “Unfortunately, in this case, a fire started at some point. It was not identified until we received the report of smoke on Sunday, a day when the landfill is not in service,” he said.
Path explained that the crews from the Potter County and Amarillo fire departments and landfill public work crews all responded immediately and tried to spray down the fire, push it with heavy equipment and dig it out where possible. But, because of the dry and extremely windy conditions, they recognized the fire would strain existing resources, and they contacted a contractor who specializes in industrial scale fires on Sunday afternoon.
The contractor began trucking in heavy equipment and additional resources from across Texas and other states overnight, and they began to work at the landfill Monday morning, according to Path.
“It is important to note that emergency response efforts never ceased while we awaited the contractor’s support,” Path said.
The city manager emphasized that emergency efforts continued throughout Monday morning, with Amarillo and Potter County fire crews monitoring the situation.
“At approximately 2:51 p.m., emergency operations center received a report that the fire had broken out of the landfill. As fire crews attempted to reposition in difficult terrain and nearby neighborhoods, the fire — driven by wind gusts exceeding 50 mph in very low relative humidity — broke loose and began racing through dry fields,” he said.
Path said that he believed the firefighters took every step available to fight the landfill fire and commended firefighters, public works staff and contractors who worked tirelessly that day.
“At this time, we are receiving encouraging reports from the contractor that the fire at the landfill is under control. I have been to the landfill several times since Sunday, and when I visited most recently, the pit appeared calm and contained. However, the contractor will remain on site until the fire is fully out,” Path said.
Path addresses notice of violations from TCEQ
Path then addressed in the video something many had already asking questions about: reports from the TCEQ.
“Today I learned that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or TCEQ has issued a notice of violation related to the Amarillo landfill. The complaint, received on April 30, 2026, stated that the landfill was not properly covering deposited waste. The TCEQ listed the date of investigation as April 30, and the city received the notice of violation on May 20, or yesterday,” Path said.
“Given what our community has just experienced, this is deeply concerning to me. Prior to the fire on Sunday and prior to this notice of violation being issued, I was not aware that there might be a compliance concern of this kind at the landfill,” he said.
He contended that as city manager he is ultimately responsible for how the city as an organization performs, and he takes this responsibility very seriously. He said he would be initiating a thorough review of the landfill operations and looking closely about what happened, when it happened, who knew what and when, and the circumstances behind this violation.
“We will work with TCEQ as we do this. My expectation is that any deficiencies will be identified, corrected and communicated to the public,” he said.
“We know that homes have been destroyed by this fire,” Path added. “And many families are hurting and looking for answers. I want you to know that I share your concern and your sense of urgency. Before I close, I want to once again express my deepest sympathies to all those who have lost homes or property in Potter and Randall counties. This has been very difficult time for many people, but I am fully confident there is no place more willing to come together to help one another than the Texas Panhandle.”
Path pledged that they would continue to share information with the public as they learn more and listen to concerns and make changes where they are needed. “As we work through these challenges, from the devastation of the recent fires, to the questions being raised about our landfill operations, please know that our focus remains on serving you with honesty, transparancy and care.”
Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley said Thursday that he and Mayor Pro Tem Don Tipps would also be addressing concerns at a press conference on Friday.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo City Manager Grayson Path speaks on landfill fire, operations
Reporting by Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
