A massive blaze destroyed five vehicles and damaged five more in Scotts Valley over the weekend and interrupted the first day of camp for Mission Springs’ Outdoor Education Camp.
The blaze affected 10 vehicles and left a large column of dark smoke that was visible along Mount Hermon Road on Sunday.
The fire started after one of the vehicles pulled into the parking lot near Lockhart Gulch and the engine began to malfunction, said Chris Stubendorff, battalion chief with the Scotts Valley Fire District. The blaze grew quickly as the engine started to smoke, unnoticed by anyone until it caught a bystander’s attention, said Stubendorff.
Summer camp staff attempted to put out the flames using fire extinguishers, but the blaze was too big and quickly engulfed the first car. Soon the flames spread, moving easily between the closely parked cars.
When the first crew arrived on the scene at around 4 p.m., five of the vehicles were engulfed in a blaze, and the fire had begun to spread to the nearby vegetation. Soon after, additional fire response teams, including Cal Fire and the Santa Cruz Fire Department, were called in to assist.
Crews contained the fire within 10 minutes, managing to limit the spread to vegetation to less than a quarter of an acre. It took another hour to extinguish the fire fully.
In the end, five cars were destroyed, and another five were left with heat damage.
The cause of the fire was deemed to be an accident, according to a press release from the Scotts Valley Fire District, with no suspicion of arson or foul play.
Stubendorff, who was at the scene of the fire, speculated that the car’s engine may have been overheated after a steep climb up Frontier Road to reach the parking lot, which was at the top of the hill. Since the blaze destroyed most of the evidence, Stubendorff said he couldn’t yet determine the precise cause of the initial fire.
No one was injured in the fire, and there was no damage to the nearby summer camp buildings or homes.
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