SAN ANTONIO -- The Texas Commission On Environmental Quality hired a company from Pasadena, Texas, on Monday to extinguish a big, smoldering pile of mulch in Helotes.

Oil Mop will take over the firefighting duties from the owner of the mulch, Henry Zumwalt, who hired a crew that was using heavy equipment to battle the fire.

State officials had given Zumwalt until 1 p.m. Monday to present a plan to put out the fire, which has been burning since Christmas Day.

Lenny Turpin, who was representing Zumwalt at a meeting of the Bexar County Commissioners Court on Monday, said that progress was being made by using machinery to separate the big pile into smaller units and extinguishing it one pile at a time.

But state and county officials apparently didn't think Zumwalt's plan would work, so the decision was made to allow TCEQ to hire the contractor.

"This could have happened a hell of a lot faster," Helotes Mayor Jon Allan said about the timing of the hiring of Oil Mop.

Oil Mop plans to start setting up on Thursday and hopes to have the fire extinguished Jan. 24 at a cost of $1.7 million.