Thick black smoke billowed over the Antelope Valley Thursday as about 1,500 crushed cars burned at a recycling yard, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The Sheriff's Department confirmed that the fire had been contained by 7 p.m.
A malfunction at a car shredder sparked a fire that consumed 10 acres of the 20-acre facility, said Capt. Sheila Kelliher-Berkoh of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. No injuries were reported.
The fire broke out at the West Avenue H-8 facility on North Sierra Highway in Lancaster around 3:30 p.m., according to local media reports. A third alarm or request for additional resources was requested, a department spokesman told The Times, and the facility was evacuated.
At the height of the fire, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Lancaster Station issued a shelter-in-place order for the neighborhood between Division Street and Challenger Way north of Avenue I.
A video posted on X earlier in the day showed a massive cloud of black smoke blocking out the sky.
Air testing found no levels of chemicals that could pose a health threat to nearby residents, Kelliher-Berkoh said.
