PORTLAND, Ore. — A fire at a Radius Recycling metal recycling facility in the St. Johns neighborhood broke out Wednesday afternoon, sending up a plume of black smoke visible from as far away as downtown Portland. There were no injuries reported to first responders or plant personnel, according to Portland Fire & Rescue, and it took about five hours to get the blaze under control.
The Radius Recycling facility is located in an industrial area along the Willamette River between the Port of Portland's Terminal 4 and Terminal 5. A PF&R news release describes the company as being "affiliated with" Schnitzer Steel; the company's website says Schnitzer Steel rebranded to Radius Recycling last year.
Wednesday's incident was the second major fire at the scrapyard this year; a previous debris fire broke out on the evening of May 9, producing a large amount of smoke, although in that case fire crews were able to put it out in about an hour.
Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) first tweeted about Wednesday's fire at around 1:30 p.m., describing it as a large fire in a scrap pile at the recycling facility, and said aerial ladder pipes were being set up to start putting it out. PF&R later added that the fire was in at least two piles and a nearby structure was in danger of being caught up in the blaze.
The pile ablaze was filled with smashed cars, appliances and other large metal objects scheduled to go through the industrial shredder, PF&R later said in a news release. The fire response was progressively upgraded to become a four-alarm fire by around 3 p.m., and PF&R said at one point that crews from both Portland and Vancouver were at the scene.
PF&R warned that traffic would be impacted due to hose lines connected to hydrants and that drivers should expect road closures and avoid the area. Crews were also using fire boats to pump water from the river. PF&R said plant employees at one point began trying to remove material from the piles to reduce available fuel for the fire, and tweeted a video showing what appeared to be an excavator being used to scoop up material.
PF&R said all water used in the incident was captured by an on-site water collection system which will strain out particulates, decreasing concerns about runoff entering the watershed, but added that people within the downwind pathway of the fire's smoke should close their windows and shelter in place "to reduce the harmful effects of the smoke on your respiratory system."
At around 4:45 p.m., PF&R said it had made plans to start rotating crews at the site and would be bringing in a fuel truck and another fire boat to refuel the vehicles at the scene. Just before 5 p.m., nearly 100 firefighters from crews across the city were on the scene.
"The fire watch crews will be at the site until midnight... until the fire is completely extinguished," the agency said.