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AFI E <br />' Continued from At <br /> Friday at Royster Tire INsposal when <br /> a grate Bre spread to the pit where <br />, old tines were stacked like cords of <br />,,wood. The fire almost instantly <br /> surged out of control, officials said . <br /> Smoke spread east toward <br /> Stockton just before sunset Friday, <br /> looking much like a massive <br /> storm cloud. "I thought it was Ei <br /> Nifio," said Nora Iniguez as she <br /> waited outside a downtown <br /> 'Stockton church Friday night. <br /> Authorities said Saturday the <br /> cause of the grass fire is still <br /> being investigated. Owner Silas <br /> "Chuck" Royster said Friday a <br /> spark from weed-cutting equip- <br /> ment ignited the fire. <br /> I"rrefighters set backfires to bum <br /> brush around the pit so the fire <br /> would not spread. By 2 a.m. <br /> Saturday, the blaze was confined <br /> to the pit, and firefighters from <br /> the 14 agencies that responded to <br /> the scene were sent home. <br /> The concern Saturday turned <br /> from the fire itself to the environ- <br /> mental impacts. Each burning tire <br /> can release chemicals equivalent <br /> to the burning of two gallons of <br /> oil. Sulfur dioxrde, carbon monox- <br /> ide and-petroleum-based soot are <br /> among the noxious byproducts. <br /> Authorities were monitoringg the <br /> levels of these chemicals down- <br /> wind from the fire, but so far they <br /> had no indication of unhealthy <br /> levels, said Allan Hirsch, of the <br /> California Air Resources Board. <br /> The fire appeared no more dan- <br /> gerous than a normal, large fire, <br /> he said. <br /> But EPA workers also are con- <br /> ducting tests. <br /> Authorities said there would be <br /> irnestigations into the fire. Officials <br /> were trying to figure out if Royster <br /> had proper permits to operate the <br /> fire storage prt. And the state Fire <br /> Marshall's Office is investigating to <br /> see whether the site was being <br /> operated according to fire codes. <br /> The tare yard, located about five <br /> miles south of Interstate 205, is a <br /> former gravel pit where the tires <br /> were stored for recycling. Fie offi- <br /> cials and county staff have been <br /> criticizing the site as a fire hazard <br /> at least since 1985. <br /> The state Integrated Waste <br /> Management Board had been look- <br /> ing into the operation of the fire- <br /> disposal site before the fire began <br />