Grinding equipment that was burnt beyond repair at Cayman Brac in December has been replaced and post–Hurricane Paloma clean–up crews are back on the Island.
The tub grinder, which ground vegetation, was severely damaged in the blaze at the site near the Agricultural Ground on the Bluff on 17 December.

A new machine – a shredder capable of separating metals from vegetation – arrived on the Brac in late January and is at work at the dump site opposite Public Beach.

Sean McGinn, the assistant director of solid waste at the Department of Environmental Health, said the cause of the fire was still not known and he is awaiting an official report to come back from police.

“The cleanup crews have been back since early January,” he said.

Minister for Works Arden McLean pulled the DEH crews from the Brac following the fire, citing concerns over their safety.

The new $600,000 Doppstadt shredder, shipped from Ohio following Hurricane Paloma, was not a replacement for the burned grinder, but was already on its way when the fire occurred.

Fire Chief Dennom Bodden said a report on the fire had been sent to police, but police say they are still awaiting more information from the Fire Services Department.

The old grinder remains in place at the end of a stony road on the Bluff, blackened signs of the fire that destroyed it still evident.