Latest fire at Oakland recycling plant spews acrid, possibly toxic, smoke over Alameda, Bay Area
If you smelled that acrid smoke in the air on Wednesday afternoon and checked our social media to find out why, you learned that it was caused by a fire at the Schnitzer Steel recycling yard at 1101 Embarcadero West in Oakland. It was the third big fire at Schnitzer Steel since 2018, according to a KTVU News [1] report.
[2]Fireboats from Alameda and San Francisco fire departments were called in to help Oakland Fire Department (OFD) crews battle the blaze, which started just after 5:30 p.m., fire officials said. Shortly before 7:15 p.m., OFD reported [3] that the fire was “contained but not yet under control.” OFD spokesperson Michael Hunt said the fire was confined to a 50-foot-tall pile of “steel and other recyclables.”
Meanwhile, social media erupted with complaints of coughing and choking on the pungent smoke, which many said smelled like burning plastic. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAMQD) issued an advisory [4] on Wednesday, warning that smoke from the fire was expected to spread to Alameda, Oakland, San Leandro, Fremont, and could impact areas as far south as San Jose. “The Air District is monitoring this situation closely,” the advisory stated. Residents were advised to keep all windows and doors closed as a precaution. OFD Interim Chief Damon Covington said in a news conference that the air quality alert had been issued as a precaution.
The fire was still burning on Thursday morning, but was confined to one debris pile, OFD reported. However, the area impacted by the smoke had increased due to shifts in ground winds, so the Air Quality Management District extended the advisory [5] to include smoke impacts in parts of Contra Costa County as well. However, BAAQMD stopped short of calling a Spare the Air Alert. OFD said a hazardous materials team would be testing the air quality and providing updates on Thursday. You can check current air quality levels online https://fire.airnow.gov/ [6].
The origin of the fire remains under investigation. According to the KTVU report, “the facility’s shredder has been identified as a contributing factor to the significant size of the debris pile, which fueled the blaze.”
[7]Portland-based Schnitzer Steel Industries has had a number of fires at the Oakland facility in recent years and has paid millions to settle alleged environmental violations, CBS News [8]reported. In 2021, Schnitzer paid $4.1 million to settle a lawsuit by Alameda County and the State of California alleging that the company allowed hazardous waste to pollute surrounding areas of West Oakland and the Oakland Estuary. Schnitzer Steel rebranded the company at the end of last month [9], changing the name to Radius Recycling.
On Thursday, A’s president Dave Kaval posted on social media that the team will continue to pursue legal action against Schnitzer, despite the fact that the A’s apparently have abandoned any plans to build a ballpark at Howard Terminal and are actively preparing to move to Las Vegas. He called it good news for West Oakland residents, but some people might call it yet another insult to Oakland baseball fans.