A fire at a problematic dump site was an effort by the property owner to clean it up.

Earlier this month two residents who live on Ulman Stockstill Road complained of a parcel of land that has consistently had junk, dilapidated buildings and the appearance of a junk yard. They said the problem had been ongoing for at least five years.

District IV Supervisor Patrick Lee recently made a telephone call to the property owner concerning the eyesore parcel. Pearl River County Planning and Development Director Ed Pinero Jr. said that call finally got a response with cleanup efforts that began Thursday.

Records show the property is owned by Charles Ramey of Marrero, La. The fire Thursday evening burned down the three dilapidated cottages, and one dilapidated building on the property. Fire Marshall Albert Lee said the fire was started by the property owner to begin the process of cleaning it up.

By Friday morning, only a pile of smoldering debris with metal sticking out was left. Pinero expects the metal to be recycled and disposed of after the wood burns away.

Lee said the cleanup effort by Ramey is a relief and the supervisor hopes that other people will take the initiative to cleanup their properties, if they need it.

“I think it’ll be contagious,” Lee said.

Other cleanup efforts are also providing nicer neighborhoods to ride through. In Greenbriar, about 11 dilapidated house trailers and three homes have been removed. Pinero said out of the 15 properties brought before the board of supervisors at a recent public hearing, 10 have cleaned up.

“Most people cleaned up their property within a week after the public hearing,” Pinero said.

Another 10 property owners in the county have cleaned up their land after only a conversation. Most owners of problematic properties in the county Pinero’s office has attempted to contact have cleaned them up. Only about 10 percent of the property owners have failed to respond.