CASA GRANDE, AZ — Crews from the Casa Grande Fire Department responded to a WM transfer station fire involving a large amount of burning trash on the evening of July 30, 2026, the department said.
The department did not state a cause for this fire and said the exact cause of trash fires is often hard to pin down.
WM transfer station fire prevention
Many trash fires are avoidable, according to the department, which urged residents to be careful about what goes into their garbage. The station serves Casa Grande, Eloy and Maricopa, and batteries, hot ashes, pool chemicals and other hazardous items can ignite waste during collection or hauling, or at disposal sites.
Rules for what Arizona transfer stations can accept vary by waste type and facility. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality details the requirements on its website and advises checking acceptance policies with your local facility before dropping off household hazardous waste.
Casa Grande facility opened in 2025
The Casa Grande transfer station fire occurred at a $19 million WM hauling and transfer facility, where collection trucks unload garbage that is consolidated and hauled out to disposal sites. The 21-acre site is expected to process about 350 tons of waste a day and roughly 90,000 tons a year, Chad Bowden, WM’s director of collection operations, told PinalCentral when the facility opened May 29, 2025. Houston-based WM provides commercial collection and dumpster rentals in Casa Grande along with residential trash and recycling pickup in Eloy and Maricopa.
