Fire burns at Radius Recyling in Oakland, metals plant with history of fires

By Carlos E. Castañeda

A fire burned on Wednesday morning at a metals recycling plant in West Oakland with a history of fires and environmental violations.

The fire burned at Radius Recycling on Embarcadero West near the Port of Oakland. The Oakland Fire Department said on social media at 10:31 a.m. that the fire was contained to a conveyor belt unit at the facility.

“This morning, a fire occurred at our recycling facility located at 1101 Embarcadero West. The Oakland Fire Department responded promptly, and the fire has since been fully extinguished,” said a statement from Radius. “There are no reported injuries. We would like to thank the first responders and our onsite employees for their swift actions in bringing the situation to a safe conclusion. The Oakland Fire Department has concluded the post‑incident review, and the facility has resumed operations.”

A 2023 fire at the plant burned for two days and sent a plume of toxic smoke over the region, leading to criminal charges against the company and two Radius executives. In May 2025, Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson dismissed the charges brought by her predecessor, Pamela Price, who was recalled by voters. Jones Dickson said at the time she was uncertain she could prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, in July 2025, Jones Dickson and the Bay Area Air District sued Radius Recycling over air quality violations stemming from the fire, accusing the company of creating unsafe stockpiles of scrap metal and storing material in areas without water cannons and heat-detection cameras. The lawsuit is currently pending. 

Other fires at the recycling yard in recent years have prompted Radius, formerly known as Schnitzer Steel, to pay millions to settle alleged environmental violations.