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.

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.