Lancaster business owner recalls hearing explosion during junkyard fire

LANCASTER, Calif. (KABC) — Firefighters were busy battling blazes Friday after a massive blaze broke out at an auto recycling yard in Lancaster, destroying an estimated 1,500 vehicles.

The fire continued to burn for hours Thursday, spewing thick, black smoke across the Antelope Valley.

Temperatures in the high desert exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the flames reportedly destroyed as many as 1,500 vehicles and 10 acres of land on a 20-acre site.

Firefighters later contained the blaze, but residents were advised to stay indoors due to smoke.

“i was here [Thursday] “My store was the last one open all day,” said Beau Teverius, who owns a store near the thrift store.

Teverius and one of his employees did not evacuate and witnessed what appeared to be a conflagration at the recycling yard.

“Maybe every two minutes or so we would hear loud gunshots and cars exploding. Every two or three minutes we would hear another car exploding,” he recalled.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department reported the fire broke out around 9:25 p.m. Thursday. Firefighters were battling explosive and hazardous materials combined with extreme heat, making it difficult to put out the blaze.

“It was a very intense, hot fire with a lot of hydrocarbons, which caused the smoke to be very thick and black,” said Los Angeles County Fire Battalion Chief Randy Perry.

Teverius said his store was downwind from the fire but firefighters told him it was a short distance away to avoid smoke damage.

“They said we were lucky,” he said. “If the wind had been blowing the other way, the building might not have been there.”

Other business owners near the fire worried that even a slight shift in wind direction could send black smoke and embers slamming into their buildings.

“Our concern was, even if the wind was blowing the other way, if the fire was that weak, it would continue to spread over an area and come over to our side where the smoke isn’t hitting, even though there’s a church across the street,” David Pollack said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Los Angeles County Fire Chief Sheila Kelliher said early indications indicate the blaze was caused by a malfunction of a hydraulic car crusher.