MESA, AZ — Alicia and Justin Perry own CTS Greenwaste Recycling. They say it is a local small business with only a handful of employees. Their world was turned upside down on May 31 when the site caught fire.
“This week has maybe been the darkest of our lives,” Alicia said. “I think the first day we were just in shock. I don't know how to describe what it’s like to just watch your whole world burn down around you.”
The company composts branches, leaves, palm, and grass into a soil amendment to help Valley farms with water retention and creates a carbon offset. The owners say it’s a way to make farming in the desert more sustainable.
“It’s all-natural. Almost 100% of what we get in there is coming from landscaping crews all around the community,” Alicia said.
The fire mitigation efforts have now been turned over to the company, as the smoke continues to rise. To deal with any remaining flames, the small business owners say they and their employees are spending 14-18 hours a day on location. The site is being monitored and worked on 24/7.
Bulldozers, excavators, and water trucks are on site to deal with what’s left.
“We’re sifting through the piles because they’re still very hot underneath and we need to spread them out and break up what is still smoldering,” Alicia said. “As we do that with the bulldozer we’re putting water on it immediately especially if there are flare ups, you’ve got to put that on it right away.”
Alicia says the employees and her family have been harassed and threatened by anonymous people. She understands people are frustrated still seeing and smelling smoke but wants them to know this local small business is doing the best it can. She says she’s as frustrated as anyone still having to deal with the smoke.
“I just want them to know what we’re doing and that we’re working on it 24 hours a day. It’s all we think about and all we do.”
Alicia says the hardest part has been seeing her husband, a fifth generation Arizona farmer, watch the business he’s owned for more than a decade, come unraveled.
“When other people look at it from the outside, it looks like a pile of mulch or pile of trees. But for us, and him in particular, that mulch was everything,” Alicia told ABC15.
Alicia says her training in the Air Force has helped her navigate this high-pressure situation.
The round the clock effort has obviously impacted the company and halted any income.
“We don’t know if there's a business after this or not, but there’s still a family and we’ll be ok.“
