Officials were unable to say yesterday when residents displaced by a fire emanating from the New Providence Landfill will be given the green light to return to their homes.
Several residents yesterday returned to find charred backyards and smoke filled houses.
During a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister to provide an update on the fire and efforts to extinguish it, Minister for the Environment Kenred Dorsett told reporters that although the fire was contained yesterday morning, smoke is expected to impact the neighboring areas for another week.
"I think as it stands today (Monday) we are still not recommending people return to their homes in Jubilee Gardens," he said.
"I mean the wind changes, obviously, direction throughout the course of the day.
"But from what I have seen, I don't think the police have changed their advice thus far.
"But the police will certainly make additional public service announcements regarding the issue of health and safety, from a fire perspective and a smoke perspective, on when they should return to their homes."
According to Minister of Social Services Melanie Griffin, 54 people -- 34 adults and 20 children -- were put up in temporary accommodation as of yesterday morning.
However, Griffin said those still seeking refuge should head to Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium, which was activated as an emergency shelter on Sunday as of 6 p.m., as her department could only assist a limited number of people with temporary accommodation.
Asked for a conservative estimate on when residents could return to their homes, Dorsett deferred to Assistant Commissioner Stephen Dean and Director of Fire Services Superintendent Walter Evans, who agreed with his (Dorsett's) assessment.
Evans indicated that as of 1 p.m. strong winds continued to present a challenge to firefighters, but the blaze was contained, though there are still areas of concern that need to be closely monitored.
Dean said the safety of residents was a priority on Sunday, and since then evacuation authorities have turned their sights on protecting the homes in the area and have locked down Jubilee Gardens.
He said two satellite police stations have been mobilized and along with support from patrol units, will provide around-the-clock coverage of the area.
"Overnight, and since that fire, we have had no reported incidents in that area," he said.
"There may be some inconvenience because we have to man that [area]; all vehicles that are coming in and out, persons that are coming in and out to ensure no one is coming in those areas to steal or do anything to those persons' properties.
"We want to ensure the residents that we have the area on lockdown, so to speak, with our security measures and police officers will be there in droves 24/7."

Waste delays
Dorsett also advised that operations at the landfill, namely accepting waste, had come to a halt, which is expected to have an impact on garbage collection.
"We have advised our collectors obviously, until further notice, not to bring in waste," he said.
"We are creating some temporary facilities - 20 or so bins - for emergency situations for us to pull them out, but we are asking the public to bear with us because we cannot bring new waste into that landfill at this time.
"We would only exacerbate the problem and extend the time within which we want to control the smoke. But we will keep the public informed."
He indicated that operations will resume on Wednesday morning.
The minister noted that due to the dry weather, authorities are battling the fire at the dump site, but also dealing with forest fires as they pop up.

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