Junk fire at Redwood City port forces health warning

Junk fire at Redwood City port forces health warning A two-alarm weekend blaze at a Port of Redwood City auto scrap yard led to emergency warning system notification of nearly 16,000 area residents before being extinguished nearly 12 hours after sparking.
   An employee at the Sims Metal scrap yard called in the fire Sunday morning. The firm dismantles and recycles cars parts as scrap metal.
   Fire department officials told the Palo Alto Daily News that the fire had started in a 40-foot-tall pile of 'soft' car parts — mostly plastic, rubber, upholstery and tires.
   Despite the Redwood City warning to nearly 16,000 residents, fire department officials said they were confident that the smoke from the fire was not toxic.
   Huge clouds of smoke from the fire shifted several times during the day, leading officials in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City, Atherton and East Palo Alto to issue warnings for people to stay inside. Menlo Park Police evacuated nearby Bayfront Park as the plume of smoke switched directions with a wind change and headed south.
   The difficult location of the fire, at the bottom of the pile, required yard employees to excavate material before the fire crews could get to the heart of the fire and extinguish it.
   Fire department officials said four of the five on-duty fire companies at the time were focused on the blaze. Units from the San Jose Fire Department and the San Francisco Airport were also brought in to pump foam on the burning pile.
   There were no reports of injuries and the fire department said the cause of the fire is likely accidental.
   Three months ago, a much smaller fire started at the same location, said fire officials.