1.   A generation of rag-pickers settled in shanties atop Smokey Mountain, named for the noxious haze pumped out by methane fires smoldering beneath the refuse.

2.   An underground methane fire has been burning at the landfill for years.

3.   Experts believe it is fed by an ongoing underground methane fire.

4.   Hundreds of St. Thomas residents have complained of irritated eyes and persistent coughs since an underground methane fire broke out at the Bovoni landfill more than a year ago.

5.   The government is negotiating a contract with Foster Wheeler Environmental Corp. of Stuart, Florida, to extinguish the underground methane fire.

6.   The spate of blazes are fueled by an underground methane fire.