Gusty Wind Fans Fire in Recyclable Debris

A wind-fanned fire engulfed an acre-size mound of paper and cardboard at a Sun Valley recycling firm Monday afternoon, sending up 200-foot flames and thick, black plumes of smoke visible throughout much of the San Fernando Valley, fire officials said.

No injuries were reported and the fire was contained in the yard of Sun Valley Paper Stock Inc. at 11166 Pendleton St., Los Angeles city Fire Department officials said.

Gusty winds blew burning embers that spread the flames throughout the six-foot-high paper pile and sent blasts of hot air into nearby debris, igniting it.

“The wind caused the fire to preheat the area and create gaseous fumes that erupted very rapidly,” said Assistant Fire Chief Richard Olsen. “On a hot day like this, the fire just took off.”

As the first of 17 Fire Department companies arrived at the yard, fire raged over the pile of paper and inside two corrugated-metal warehouses containing rags, aluminum cans and plastic bottles, Olsen said. Firefighters battled the blaze with water that was chemically treated to quickly penetrate burning debris.

Thick smoke obscured vision in the area, prompting fire officials to shut down several nearby streets, including busy Glenoaks Boulevard between Pendleton and Tuxford streets.

Mike Hernandez, a company employee, said he saw the blaze begin when sparks of unknown origin burst from an eight-foot-high pile of cardboard at the east end of the four-acre yard. He and several others ran for fire extinguishers and nearby water hoses, but in seconds the fire enveloped the debris, rendering their small hoses useless.

“Flames were all over the place in a matter of seconds,” he said.

Robert Fagan, one of the firm’s owners, said his 20 employees safely evacuated the yard, where up to 500 tons of recyclable materials were stored.

“We all scrambled,” Fagan said. “There was an awful lot of flames everywhere.”

The cause of the fire was under investigation and no estimate of monetary damages was available. It took about 85 firefighters more than an hour to control the blaze, which was reported shortly after 3:30 p.m.

Firefighters were expected to stay at the yard throughout the night, pouring water on the smoldering mounds of paper and rags.

“I was going full bore,” Olsen said. “At least an acre was on fire. At the peak of this fire flames were 200 feet high and the air was heavy with black smoke.”

Two Fire Department helicopters circled the area to ensure that embers had not ignited nearby structures and a brush-covered hillside about a quarter mile to the east.

Fagan said he had not yet assessed damage to the firm’s paper bailer and compacting machines.

“It’s been a very bad day for us,” he said.