Abandoned RV fire causes temporary highway closure
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LUCERNE, Calif. – A fire in an abandoned RV on the side of Highway 20 in Lucerne temporarily closed the roadway and threatened a nearby structure late Wednesday night.
The RV, which had been parked at the corner of 12th Avenue and Highway 20 in front of a now-closed restaurant, was first reported to be on fire shortly before 11:30 a.m.
A large plume of smoke rose through town and was visible blocks away.
The RV fire caught utility lines above it on fire as well, but a nearby tree and the closed restaurant structure did not appear to be badly damaged.
At one point during the fire, before Northshore Fire personnel arrived, there was a loud explosion, likely from a propane tank inside of the vehicle blowing up.
The fire resulted in authorities closing Highway 20 in both directions for nearly an hour, starting shortly after 11:30 a.m.
Reports from the incident command stated the fire was contained just before 12:15 a.m. Thursday, with the incident terminated 15 minutes later.
The CHP reported that the utility lines that were damaged are being handled by Mediacom. No power lines were reported to be involved.
It was not immediately clear if the vehicle fire was an arson.
However, it was not far away from the site of another suspicious car fire, which occurred in January in an alley between 12th and 13th avenues, as Lake County News has reported.
The RV was reportedly parked in that location for more than a month, and had been red-tagged by both Lake County Code Enforcement and the California Highway Patrol.
A neighbor told Lake County News that he had made calls to both agencies about the vehicle, to no avail. Lake County News also sent a written request for information to the Community Development Department about the vehicle earlier this week but had received no reply.
Someone had painted “please tow” on the side of the vehicle last week, the neighbor reported.
The CHP was on scene at the incident early Thursday and was reported to be waiting for the vehicle to be towed.
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