Favourable winds have helped crews make progress in fighting a landfill fire that caused the west-central Saskatchewan town of Kindersley to declare a local state of emergency.

An update on the town’s website Wednesday evening said crews successfully carried out fire suppression efforts throughout the day and into the evening using a dry suppression foam and dirt cover to suffocate the fire burning amidst the debris.

The fire broke out on Monday night at the west end of the landfill. Firefighters had the blaze contained by 2:30 a.m. Tuesday but town officials said shifting winds could cause the fire to spread again.

A “shelter-in-place” advisory issued Tuesday night remains in place with people living within one kilometre of the fire being asked to avoid going outside. The town says air quality is being monitored regularly and is within acceptable limits provided that the shelter-in-place steps are observed.

Other precautions listed include closing windows and doors, closing fireplace dampers, getting emergency kits together, and using stairwells instead of elevators.

There have been no evacuations as a result of the fire but there are three schools and a hospital in the vicinity. The air quality around those buildings has not been affected, but students have been kept inside for recess.

At one point the fire was burning as high as five stories in the landfill, which bales and stacks garbage.

Equipment has been brought in to battle the blaze and berms have been created with bulldozers in the dump, separating the fire from an area filled with building materials which could easily ignite.

Saskatchewan Environment Minister Ken Cheveldayoff visited Kindersley and a team of provincial emergency responders with specialized equipment is working with firefighters and town officials to aid the local emergency measures command centre.

Garbage and recycling collection has been canceled until further notice, and the Ministry of Environment has been contacted to do air quality tests in the area.

If you can safely capture videos or photos of the fire, please submit them to MyNews here: http://mynews.ctvnews.ca/upload