MARION COUNTY, Fla. – More than a month later, the city of Dunnellon is still dealing with the fallout from a massive fire fueled by thousands of railroad ties.
On Wednesday night, another meeting brought concerned citizens to city hall hoping the council will take legal action.
“I just got out of the hospital three weeks ago,” said one woman. “Breathing problems.”
“Your community is feeling unheard by you,” said another.
Councilmembers listened to comments from the community and discussed the matter themselves for two hours before deciding not to seek their own injunction or look into joining a complaint that’s already been filed by Marion County. A motion directing city staff to reach out to the county and explore the possibility failed with a 2-3 vote.
“It muddies up the waters and that’s all it does,” said Vice Mayor Tim Inskeep. “Our mission is to get this mess cleaned up and get it out of here.”
Vice Mayor Tim Inskeep told his fellow councilmembers and the public that he believes the city will make more progress by talking directly to CSX outside of the courts. He and Mayor Walter Green both gave updates on the actions that have been taken so far and how they continue to communicate with all parties involved.
[BELOW: Drone video shows massive pile of railroad ties in Dunnellon after fire]
“Every effort down the line has been done to ensure that we reach the goal of removal of these cross ties,” said Mayor Green.
The complaint filed by Marion County names CSX, Track Line Rail, and Florida Northern Railroad and details how several hundreds of tons of chemically treated railroad ties ended up between the Chatmire and Blue Cove communities.
In October, the county sent a notice of violation and requested that the stockpile of railroad ties be removed immediately. After residents complained about the towering piles and possible health effects, the city of Dunnellon sent its own notice of violation to CSX.
Several months later on February 1, 2026, the piles of ties caught fire. Tina Blumish Kindred remembers waking up to a catastrophic sight.
“I got to my back window, and the sky is orange,” said Blumish Kindred.
On Wednesday, she showed videos to the council that she took on her cell phone as firefighters rushed to get the flames under control. She told our News 6 crew that she does not think the city has done enough.
[BELOW: Dunnellon residents react to railroad tie fire amid health concerns]
“I’m so sick of that attitude like if we put pressure on them they night leave and leave the whole mess here,” said Blumish Kindred. “I don’t appreciate the attitude and sentiment at all.”
An injunction could require CSX to immediately clear any violations, remove hazardous materials, prohibit further violations, and/or grant local governments relief for any fees or costs incurred from the cleanup.
“We don’t want them here. They have no business here. They don’t need to be here, and they need to leave,” said Mayor Green. “That goal has never changed.”
Earlier this week, the council said a Special Magistrate granted CSX a 60-day extension for the clean-up. Vice Mayor Inskeep said it will take a significant amount of time to remove the remaining ties. On Monday, he met with CSX leadership and learned that all of the ties will be removed from both Marion County and Dunnellon by the end of April.
CSX has overseen cleanup efforts at the property under the supervision of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), which shared the following update with News 6 this week:
Cleanup operations at the CSX site in Dunnellon are now complete for all railroad ties and soil impacted by last month’s fire.
Confirmatory soil sampling verified that all impacted material was successfully removed, with results below the protective levels established in state regulations for both direct exposure and leachability. DEP also reviewed results from multiple rounds of surface water sampling from nearby water bodies, as well as soil samples from residential properties where access was granted. All results were below applicable cleanup target levels, confirming that no fire-related impacts were found outside the cleanup area.
Backfilling of the excavated areas with clean soil finished last week, marking the final step in active restoration operations at the site.
In addition, more than 40,000 railroad ties that were not impacted by the fire have been removed as part of the response.
DEP will continue monitoring the removal of remaining unburned ties and appreciates the cooperation of partner agencies and residents throughout this effort.