Updated May 16, 2018 at 9:25 p.m.
It took firefighters nearly two hours Wednesday to subdue a blaze that spread across a recycling yard near El Cajon and sent a column of thick black smoke over eastern San Diego County.
The non-injury blaze broke out shortly after 1:30 p.m. in a car- crushing apparatus at All Ways Metal Recycling in the unincorporated Bostonia community, according to San Miguel Fire & Rescue.
Sheriff’s deputies evacuated the facility and shut down North Magnolia Avenue, which fronts the business, between Cypress Lane and Greenfield Avenue as a safety precaution. County hazardous-materials personnel were called in to deal with possibly toxic runoff, SMFR Deputy Chief James Marugg said.
Firefighters had the flames extinguished by 3:20 p.m., Marugg said.
The county crew determined that the blaze resulted in no environmental hazards, the deputy chief said.
All affected traffic lanes in the area were open again as of shortly after 4 p.m., sheriff’s Sgt. Phillip Beaumont said.
–City News Service
