Fire Fully Extinguished at Metal-Recycling Facility in West Oakland

OAKLAND – A fire at a metal-recycling facility in West Oakland was fully extinguished Thursday afternoon, nearly 24 hours after it ignited and sent plumes of pungent smoke across the East Bay.

“The fire has been brought under control and (the facility) has been transferred back to the ownership and the management here at Schnitzer Steel,” Oakland Fire Battalion Chief James Bowron said in a video posted to social media around 4:45 p.m. Thursday.

Nearly 24 hours after the fire incident began at Schnitzer Steel / Radius Recycling, the Incident Commander Battalion Chief James Bowron concluded the incident and all OFD resources have now left the facility. pic.twitter.com/H8ELkP3aYp

— Oakland Fire Department (CA) (@OaklandFireCA) August 10, 2023

Bowron said no injuries were reported.

The fire was reported around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in a large debris pile at Radius Recycling, located at 1101 Embarcadero West. The company was formerly known as Schnitzer Steel.

Heavy-equipment operators at the metal-recycling facility helped pull apart the pile so that firefighters could extinguish the blaze. The fire was under control around 9 p.m. Wednesday, but firefighters did not clear the scene until Thursday afternoon.

Bowron credited firefighters for working “through the night” to extinguish the fire and also thanked the San Francisco and Alameda fire departments for lending their fire boats.

Heavy smoke from the blaze triggered an advisory from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Residents were urged to stay inside with windows and doors closed until smoke levels subsided.

In an incident report released Thursday morning, the air district said the fire “started in a scrap metal pile containing aluminum, tin, light iron and steel and generated large plumes of smoke.” The smoke impacted downwind areas as far away as San Jose and Livermore. A shift in the wind also caused impacts north of the blaze.

The air district later announced it had issued two notices of violation to the company. An investigation is continuing to determine if there were any additional violations of air quality regulations. As of 3 p.m. Thursday, the air district had fielded 47 air pollution complaints.