South Valley fire at recycling plant leaves two businesses set for demolition

The South Valley fire that started at Town Recycling has spread far beyond the recycling yard, leaving two neighboring businesses at 4220 Broadway SE facing demolition. Khalil Samaha, who owns Samcar, Inc. and Cedar’s Construction next door, said the second blaze tore through his main building, trucks, construction equipment, computers and records, with damages he estimated at about $1 million.

The first fire at the site broke out May 23 around 6:30 p.m. and burned about 2 acres. Bernalillo County said more than 50 firefighters and 19 units responded, and officials issued a smoke health alert for Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. No injuries were reported.

A second fire erupted June 2 while crews were still monitoring hot spots from the earlier blaze. Officials said it may have reignited from a bale of cardboard left from the first incident. Bernalillo County later confirmed that two commercial buildings, including the recycling center, were condemned as a result of the fire, and fire chief Zach Lardy said Samaha’s neighboring businesses would end up being condemned.

For Samaha, the damage went well beyond a burned structure. He said county officials would not let him back inside the condemned main office, cutting off access to the records and equipment that kept Samcar, Inc. and Cedar’s Construction moving. In a corridor like the South Valley, where working yards, contractors and industrial sites depend on steady traffic and daily operations, the loss of two adjoining businesses creates a longer and more expensive recovery zone than the fire scene alone.

Broadway was closed between Rio Bravo and Prosperity during the response and cleanup, adding another layer of disruption to the surrounding businesses and workers. The repeated fires also raised fresh questions about how much damage can linger after crews leave a site, especially when hot spots remain on an industrial property packed with combustible material.

Investigators from Bernalillo County Fire and Rescue, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the New Mexico State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were working to determine the cause. At Town Recycling, the cost of the fire was no longer measured only in smoke and flames, but in condemned buildings, lost income and a cleanup that had already pushed into a second round.