Firefighters will work into the night to snuff out a blaze at a metal recycling factory that sent toxic smoke plumes billowing across Melbourne.

A large pile of scrap metal caught fire at the industrial site at Plummer Road in Laverton North on Tuesday afternoon.

The facility in the city’s outer west is owned by the Pacific Metal Group, a metals recycling company.

A dozen workers on site were evacuated along with those from nearby factories.

No one was injured.

Smoke from the fire could be seen and smelt across Melbourne’s western and northern suburbs, with residents warned to be on alert.

The Environment Protection Authority was monitoring air conditions.

More than 70 firefighters responded to the blaze, bringing it under control within four hours.

“It was quite windy that time of day,” Fire Rescue Victoria acting assistant chief fire officer Darren Brown told reporters.

“So with the wind, that helped fan it.”

The estimated area of the fire is 80 metres by 50 metres and 10 metres high, and is likely to continue to burn throughout the evening.

“It’s quite deep-seated. It’ll just burn for ages,” Brown said.

The cause of the blaze is unknown.

In 2017, a fire at a Melbourne recycling plant owned by SKM Recycling forced hundreds of residents to evacuate due to toxic smoke and ash.

The fire at the Coolaroo plant in Melbourne’s north took 11 days to extinguish and led to a $1.2 million class action settlement.

-AAP