Soot From Sims Fire Lingers, But Officials Say Air is Safe

Sunday's fire at a metal recycling yard in Redwood City took more than 50 firefighters to put out, and it's left an acrid plastic smell hovering in the air in the area's surrounding the facility at 699 Seaport Boulevard. And although authorities say it is safe to be outside, the fire, which burned into the night hours on Sunday, has left a haze of soot and an odor that wafts for miles, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

An outdoor pile of crushed cars and other scrap recyclables at Sims Metal Management caught on fire at about 1:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The fire was controlled around 8:30 p.m. Sunday, and was extinguished at 6:10 a.m. Monday, a fire dispatcher said.
           
Although no one was injured in Sunday's blaze, and health advisories have been lifted, according to a story in Tuesday's San Jose Mercury News, soot and other particles from the fire are lingering. The dirty air is trapped due to light winds combined with cold surface temperatures, which keeps the particles from dissipating. This is the same affect wood burning stoves have on air quality, prompting bans during winter months. 

Bay Area Air Quality spokesperson Lisa Fasano told the Merc, "It's going to take a while before it clears out." 

Soot saturated the surrounding air on Sunday at a volume of 114 parts per million (ppm), more than three times the 35-ppm limit set by federal health standards, the Merc reported. 

Fire marshal Jim Palisi says the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it is believed to have been accidental.