Minivan made ‘weird noises’ in Cambria, then caught on fire. Was neighborhood at risk?
Two words should strike fear into the heart of any motorist: Vehicle fire.
Vehicle fires in the rural areas of San Luis Obispo County can light wildfires that can cause terrible damage.
But when a vehicle fire happens in town, it presents many more possibilities for disaster.
First, the blaze is surrounded by structures and people. And while wildfires tend to happen during the hot, dry summer and fall months, a vehicle fire can flare up any time of year and during any kind of weather — even in the rain.
On Valentine’s Day, Cambria skated catastrophe when a minivan caught fire on busy Ardath Drive.
But had firefighters not been able to get things under control so quickly, how many people in that neighborhood and beyond would have been immediately ready to evacuate?
When a fire is racing up your hill or street, you only have seconds to get out of its way.
So, how’s your “go bag” situation these days? Are you ready to evacuate?
Van catches fire in Cambria
On Feb. 14, a driver was on Highway 1 in his Toyota minivan when “the vehicle started making weird noises,” Cambria Fire Captain Dan McCrain said.
About 6:30 p.m., the driver turned around and turned left on Ardath Drive, one of two main arterial streets on Lodge Hill, which has about 2,900 homes and 4,000 residents.
The driver was headed for home to identify the van’s problem, McCrain said. Before he got there, however, the noises got worse.
So the driver parked near 2985 Ardath Drive, got out, looked under the minivan and saw a glow underneath, McCrain said.
When Cambria Fire Department firefighters arrived, McCrain said, they found a van completely engulfed in flames.
Drawing water from their tank, which McCrain said is faster than hooking up to the hydrant, the firefighters immediately tackled the fire. Then Cal Fire’s Cambria team arrived with more help and water.
Firefighters stopped traffic and detoured drivers onto adjacent roads to keep them out of the active, dangerous incident scene.
Sure, the delay and detour were frustrating, but some impatient drivers tried to drive through the scene anyway. Are you kidding me? How self-centered and irresponsible!
Later, when Cambria resident Barry Berg posted a photo of the “severe car fire” on Nextdoor, he said “the sounds of tires exploding further dramatized the situation.”
Victoria Moreno, co-owner of the downtown Mezzo Italiano restaurant, posted simply, “SCARY! Right next door to my house ... literally.”
How would Lodge Hill residents evacuate during a disaster?
Luck was with neighbors that night.
Firefighters arrived quickly. There was no wind. And, despite the lack of recent rain, vegetation was still fairly moist.
The van was a total loss, McCrain said, but nobody got hurt and the fire didn’t spread.
The area is packed with trees and brush, and interlaced with homes. An expanding fire there could easily have turned catastrophic very quickly.
The neighborhood is part of the Lodge Hill area studied recently by a Cal Poly professor and his team as they prepared estimates of how long it would take to evacuate everybody.
Their answer? It would take more than four hours to get the hill’s total population of residents and visitors to the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 46, assuming there were no accidents, traffic clogs or other impediments to egress — like a vehicle fire on Ardath, a primary evacuation route.
That timing formula was based on a wildfire approaching from the northeast. But when the blaze is heading your way from another section of the community, or it’s in your own back yard, so to speak? How much time would you have then?
How much time did people in Cambria’s East Village have to evacuate when the hill above them was on fire? How much time did we have to evacuate when a tree was ablaze in the heavily forested area about a quarter mile west of our home?
We must remember that fire danger isn’t always from without. Sometimes, it’s from within, right in our own neighborhoods.
Because the three other words that are even more terrifying than “vehicle fire” are “fire next door!”
Fire safety information
For details about fire safety, preparation and evacuation in Cambria, go to www.cambriacsd.org/fire-prevention-safety and www.247ncep.com.
To learn how to prepare a “go bag” emergency supply kit for each family member (and pet) and be otherwise ready in case of emergencies, go to www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/ready-set-go-campaign and cambriacert.com/useful-links/go-bags.
