The Amarillo City Council has approved hiring an outside environmental consulting firm to conduct an independent assessment of operations at the city-owned landfill following the devastating Stinky Fire, a wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes and raised widespread concerns about landfill management and oversight.

Council members recently approved a $34,800 professional services agreement with Biggs & Mathews Environmental, Inc. to evaluate landfill operations and provide recommendations for potential improvements. The review comes in the wake of a fire that began at the landfill on May 17 before spreading into surrounding areas the following day.

Dubbed the Stinky Fire by the Texas A&M Forest Service, the wildfire ultimately affected 77 homes and destroyed 52 of them, with much of the damage concentrated in the Bishop Estates area. Residents who lost homes, belongings, animals and other valuables have spent the weeks since the disaster seeking assistance and answers about what happened.

City leaders say the independent assessment is intended to provide transparency and an objective review of landfill operations while multiple investigations into the fire continue.

The decision to seek an outside evaluation follows requests made by Mayor Cole Stanley and Councilmember Don Tipps during a press conference held while firefighters were still battling the blaze. Although city staff had the authority to proceed with the contract without formal council approval, officials opted to place the item before the council to allow public discussion.

According to Stanley, City Manager Grayson Path could have authorized the expenditure under existing purchasing authority, which permits spending up to $50,000 when deemed necessary. However, Stanley said transparency was a key reason for bringing the matter before the council.

“Everybody deserves to know as much as they can know about everything that happened, the good and the bad,” Stanley said. “Mr. Hooper is doing an internal evaluation, very thorough — I think we're going to be pleased with it. But, if we don’t do an external (one), I think that's what we would hear, well, that's just him looking into himself (and the department). Who's overseeing this? So, the $34,000 is money well spent because of the circumstances that are presented.”

City officials emphasized that the external review is not an investigation into the cause of the fire itself. Instead, the assessment will focus on landfill operations and management practices.

After Councilmember Les Simpson raised questions about the scope of the review, Path explained that the consultant's role will be to examine operational issues and recommend improvements rather than determine the cause of the fire.

The consultant is expected to evaluate a wide range of operational factors, including staffing levels, equipment, landfill pit size, waste intake volumes and other aspects of daily operations.

Meanwhile, Assistant City Manager Donny Hooper confirmed that the city has already launched its own internal review of landfill practices and procedures.

“We’ve already started and have completed some of those things as far as the internal operations look, but there’s still some work to do there,” Hooper said. “But yes, doing basically the same thing that the external consultant's going to do, looking at staffing, looking at equipment, looking at equipment sizes, looking at how much waste we took in previously in the past, as how much we've increased that pile — we've seen a significant increase in that — everything all in to operations, just a deep dive into that.”

According to city officials, the internal assessment is examining policies, equipment, site conditions and operational practices while also reviewing several months of historical data to identify any potential deficiencies and determine whether corrective actions are needed.

The independent review will occur alongside several ongoing investigations into the fire. The Texas Fire Marshal’s Office, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the City of Amarillo are all conducting separate reviews related to the landfill and the circumstances surrounding the wildfire. Officials have said findings from those investigations will be released once they are complete.

For many residents affected by the fire, the reviews represent an important step toward accountability and understanding how the disaster unfolded. Questions have persisted in the weeks following the fire, particularly because the landfill is owned by the City of Amarillo while much of the damaged area falls within Potter County. The situation has prompted confusion regarding disaster declarations, recovery assistance and governmental responsibilities.

As investigations continue, city officials have directed affected residents to Texas Panhandle Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), which continues coordinating assistance for individuals and families experiencing unmet needs related to fire recovery.

While answers about the fire's origin may still be months away, city leaders say the operational review is intended to ensure every aspect of landfill management is thoroughly examined. By pairing an internal assessment with an independent third-party evaluation, officials hope to identify opportunities for improvement, restore public confidence and help prevent a similar disaster from occurring in the future.