Redwood City Scrap Yard Fire Burns For 22 Hours

  Katie Hammer

Apr. 8 - KGO (KGO) -- Fire crews have finally put out a fire at a Redwood City scrap yard after it burned for 22 hours. But they still don't know what was in the smoke that people complained about downwind.

The large plume of dark smoke that covered much of the peninsula Saturday has cleared. Fire officials spent the morning at Sims Metal Yard extinguishing hot spots left behind by the massive blaze.

Investigators believe the fire was accidental and caused by the way the yard processes scrap metal and old cars.

Many who saw the rising smoke yesterday stopped by the yard today to see where it was coming from.

Frank Aguilar, Onlooker: "It was different, a lot of black smoke, I could smell it clear down in Sunnyvale."

Work continued at Sims Metal as heavy machinery moved charred scraps.

Signs of the fire could be seen in what was once greenery that surrounds the yard.

Larry Hanna, Onlooker: "I thought I would check this out because it was quite a sight from Menlo Park."

While many people saw the smoke from miles away, those who live in a mobile home park close to the fire say they are concerned the smoke that billowed for hours may affect their health.

Marilyn Nichols, Mobile Home Park Resident: "I also think it was toxic. Any rubber burning that long or even for a short time is dangerous. I am glad they put it out."

During the fire, residents in the immediate area were advised to stay indoors.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District took samples of the air, but says it could be days before we know exactly what chemicals were in the smoke.

Karen Schkolnick, Air Quality Mgmt. District: "All smoke is harmful to health. In this case, again, we did collect samples and we will be analyzing them to better understand what the constituents were in the smoke."

The Air Quality Management District is also investigating whether the scrap yard violated any air quality standards. No one at Sims Metal was available for comment.

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