Valley Transfer Station Fire Closes Facility Briefly
A compactor fire at the Spokane County transfer station prompted a temporary closure and redirected public waste traffic on Thursday.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Openings & Closings
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A fire broke out at the Spokane County Regional Solid Waste Valley Transfer Station on Thursday morning, and the facility temporarily closed. No injuries have been reported, and the facility was expected to reopen later Thursday.
Why it matters
The transfer station serves as a disposal point for Spokane Valley residents, so the closure temporarily disrupted where local households and haulers could drop off waste. Officials redirected public traffic to other county and city sites while the cause of the fire is determined.
Employees reported hearing multiple explosions before seeing flames inside a compactor, and no injuries have been reported. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and the facility's full operational impact beyond a same-day closure was not reported.
The players
Spokane County Regional Solid Waste
The regional solid waste agency that operates the Valley Transfer Station and the other county disposal sites that handle the area's household and commercial trash.
The details
The fire started inside a compactor at the Spokane County Regional Solid Waste Valley Transfer Station, and employees reported hearing multiple explosions before the flames appeared. The public was directed to the City of Spokane's Waste to Energy Facility on South Geiger Road and the North County Transfer Station in Colbert.
Timeline
Thursday morning: fire broke out at the transfer station.
Thursday, later in the day: the facility is expected to reopen.
Market Landscape
The Valley Transfer Station is one node in the Spokane County Regional Solid Waste System, which routes garbage across several transfer stations and a waste-to-energy facility. When one site goes offline, the system shifts traffic to the remaining sites, as it did with the redirect to the Geiger Road facility and the Colbert station.
Residents who planned to drop off waste at the Valley Transfer Station should use the City of Spokane Waste to Energy Facility on South Geiger Road or the North County Transfer Station in Colbert instead. Haulers and households may see brief delays while traffic is redirected to those alternate sites.
The takeaway
When a local disposal site closes unexpectedly, check the alternate transfer stations before making a trip. Waste that normally goes to one facility can often be taken to another in the county system without extra cost.
Further reading
For more local business closure coverage, see Openings & Closings in Spokane Valley.
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