The Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office has closed its investigation into the May fire that began at the City of Amarillo landfill and spread into nearby neighborhoods, concluding there was not enough evidence to determine what started it.
The report, released publicly Tuesday by the City of Amarillo, confirms the fire originated in Cell 10 on the south side of the city landfill at 16250 Bezner Drive. Investigators ultimately classified the cause as undetermined and closed the case.
The investigation provides new details about the fire, including why state investigators could not conduct a traditional examination of the point of origin.
Fire spread from landfill during extreme conditions
According to the State Fire Marshal’s report, a 911 call reporting a fire at the landfill came in at approximately 3:21 p.m. Sunday, May 17. Potter County and Amarillo firefighters responded and found heavy smoke inside the landfill before locating the fire in Cell 10.
Conditions were already dangerous. Relative humidity was reported at just 8%, while southwest winds were blowing at 21 mph and gusting to 44 mph Sunday afternoon.
The situation worsened Monday. The report says extreme fire weather continued, with humidity again falling as low as 8% and winds gusting to 43 mph. At approximately 3:08 p.m. May 18, the fire rapidly escaped the landfill property and eventually destroyed more than 50 homes north and northeast of the facility.
Potter County Fire Chief Richard Lake later showed State Fire Marshal investigator Sgt. Kelly Vandygriff the path of the fire. According to the report, Lake identified the location where an ember left the landfill, ignited dry and dormant vegetation and quickly moved northeast with the wind toward residential areas.
Why investigators could not determine the cause
The State Fire Marshal’s Office became involved more than a week after the fire began.
Amarillo Fire Marshal Cody Snyder contacted the agency May 27 after Mayor Cole Stanley requested an independent origin-and-cause investigation. Vandygriff traveled to Amarillo the following day.
By then, investigators faced several obstacles.
The report says Cell 10 was an active landfill dumping area considered hazardous because of potentially dangerous gases, dust and heavy equipment. Investigators did not enter the landfill to conduct an examination. The area also had been substantially altered as crews placed large amounts of dirt over burning material and moved material with heavy machinery.
Conditions outside the landfill had changed as well. Property owners and civilian cleanup crews had already altered some of the damaged and destroyed properties before the state investigator arrived.
Vandygriff wrote that witness accounts clearly established that the fire originated in Cell 10 and escaped the landfill because of extreme fire weather, but investigators could not determine the ignition source.
The report also notes that the nature of a landfill made it impossible to eliminate every potential accidental cause among the discarded materials.
Social media posts reviewed
The investigation also addressed social media posts involving a former City of Amarillo employee.
According to the report, Deputy City Manager and Public Safety Director Andrew Freeman sent Vandygriff 15 links to Facebook posts concerning former city employee Joshua Williams. The investigator reviewed several of the posts and determined their content did not indicate criminal wrongdoing or that the fire had been intentionally set.
Investigators also received Potter County Fire Rescue incident reports along with photographs and drone footage from the fire.
City explains delay and date discrepancy
The City of Amarillo said it obtained the completed State Fire Marshal report through a public information request. Although the city received an initial copy in September, officials said they delayed releasing it while determining whether it was appropriate for public distribution because the document was stamped “SENSITIVE.”
The city later learned the same report had already been released in response to a media public information request and decided to make it publicly available.
City officials also flagged an apparent date error in the report.
Section 1.3 says the fire originally occurred Saturday, May 16, although the report's synopsis and other portions identify Sunday, May 17, as the date the landfill fire began. The city said it sought clarification and was told a correction had been made, but the copy released Tuesday still contains the May 16 reference.
The city said May 17 is the correct date and that the fire spread beyond the landfill on Monday, May 18.
While the investigation does not answer the central question of exactly what ignited the fire, it establishes two major findings: the blaze originated in Cell 10 at the Amarillo landfill, and extreme fire weather helped carry it beyond the landfill and into nearby residential areas.
