UPDATE 8:20 A.M. MONDAY
Firefighters ensured a blaze didn’t spread out of control in the heart of Vernon Sunday.
Crews were called to the tracks along 31st Street, by 48th Avenue, after 5 p.m. Sunday as a black plume of smoke billowed over the area.
“It appears to have started in a transient camp and then spread to the fence of an auto wreckers,” said Jack Blair, deputy fire chief.
The flames eventually moved into 12 vehicles and mini-explosions could be heard as tires exploded from the heat.
Given the presence of old vehicles, dry grass along the tracks and nearby buildings, there was a concern about the fire growing in scope.
“The guys really worked hard to establish a water supply. They knocked it down rapidly,” said Blair.
“Had the winds been stronger, it could have been worse.”
No one was at the homeless camp when firefighters arrived and the exact cause of the fire has not been determined.
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A large plume of smoke towered over part of Vernon Sunday afternoon.
A grass fire broke out along the railway tracks near 31st Street after 5 p.m.
It’s believed the fire may have spread into an auto wreckers yard.
A cause for the fire has not been determined at this time.
