Update: South Modesto auto yard fire thought to have ‘suspicious circumstances’
Fire crews from across Stanislaus County battled a blaze Sunday afternoon at an auto salvage yard in south Modesto. Sunday night, Modesto Fire Department Deputy Chief Darin Jesberg said the origin and cause remain under investigation but there “looks to be suspicious circumstances.”
The blaze on the 500 block of Crows Landing Road was reported at 3:15 p.m. as a working commercial structure fire. It drew a response that grew to five alarms, drawing additional resources with each alarm.
No structures burned and there were no injuries, Jesberg said.
A huge cloud of black smoke could be seen for miles and was affecting driver visibility on Highway 99 for at least a brief period.
The smoke snarled highway traffic and closed some roads. On streets in the area that were open, a number of drivers pulled over to take photos. Along Neece Drive by John Thurman Field, dozens of people stood along the Tuolumne River to watch.
About 4:30 p.m., Jesberg said there were 16 engines, two trucks, one quint and five chief officers committed to it, and a strike team from San Joaquin County was on its way to “assist with coverage due to resource draw-down.”
“Crews are working in the defensive mode to to confine the fire,” Jesberg said in a text message.
Shortly after 9 p.m., he said the San Joaquin County strike team had just been released to return home.
The Stanislaus Regional Fire Investigation Unit is handling the case.
This story was originally published May 29, 2022 at 5:15 PM.
