Some 50 vehicles were destroyed on Saturday in a fire at a metal-recycling operation in Santa Maria, according to the Santa Maria Fire Department.
The blaze at SA Recycling, 1599 W. Betteravia Road, was reported at about 7 a.m.
A full structure-fire response was initiated, along with assistance by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
The lack of easy access to a water supply made the firefighters’ job more difficult, Santa Maria Battalion Chief Tony Clayburg said Satursday afternoon.
“Not having a good water supply there kind of hampered our efforts,” Clayburg added.
Without a close source, firefighters had to access water from a site near Betteravia Road and A Street, requiring some 1,600 feet of hose, Clayburg said, adding they used 3,000 feet on the incident.
Crews also employed foam in some areas due to burning rubber, according to Clayburg.
An employee operating an excavator helped firefighting crews by moving vehicles to stop the flames from spreading further, Clayburg added.
In addition to damaging the vehicles, the recycling operation’s equipment, reportedly valued at more than $1 million and used to crush cars, was heavily damaged.
No other property or structures were damaged by the fire, officials said.
Cause of the blaze remained under investigation, Clayburg said Saturday afternoon.
While Santa Maria firefighters were busy battling the blaze, county fire personnel and Cal Fire crews provided coverage for the rest of the city.
Betteravia Road was closed for a time Saturday morning due to the firefighting efforts with Santa Maria police providing traffic control.
Santa Maria firefighters have handled some significant incidents in 2019, including another earning morning blaze that destroyed a furniture store and popular steakhouse on South Broadway.
Additional details were not immediately available.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
