City public works has so much mulch on hand that it is making it free for the taking.
Lee Norris, deputy public works administrator, said there is so much mulch currently available in the community that customers who normally pay the city for mulch aren't having to buy currently.
Public Works Administrator Steve Leach said a large pile of debris and mulch that he dubbed "Mount Templeton" after supervisor Jimmy Templeton, had caught fire through spontaneous combustion.
He said the city had 300,000 cubic yards of mulch on hand.
That is enough to fill 3,000 pickup trucks, he said.
The mulch is at the city's wood recycling center at 3925 North Hawthorne St.