Crime & Safety

Photo Slideshow: Eight U-Haul Trucks Burn; Arson Not Ruled Out

County Fire Investigations Task Force on scene.

Updated at 12:35 p.m. with Mountain View Police Department information.

A two-alarm fire at the  van and truck rental facility on El Camino Real and Grant Road burned eight vehicle on Tuesday night, the reported today.

Within twenty-six minutes after a Mountain View police officer on patrol noticed the smoke rising from behind the U-Haul facility at 11:58 p.m., the fire department had extinguished the fire, according to Jaime Garrett, MVFD spokeswoman.

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The close proximity of potential hazardous materials like a 500 gallon propane tank and other parked vehicles required the evacuation of some neighbors. The  abuts the U-Haul to the West and multiple apartment at Centre Drive units on the North.

In total, five 10 foot trucks and two vans suffered serious damage, while a 20 foot truck was slightly damaged. All the trucks appeared huddled together near the back of a lot that contained a mix of vans and trucks.

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Currently the Fire Investigations Task Force—comprised of investigators from the fire departments of Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Gilroy, San Jose, Santa Clara County and two from the Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosive agency (ATF-E)—are trying to determine the cause of the incident.

"We come in as a resource when there has been a large loss," said Dennis Johnsen, the task force coordinator, who along with the others at the scene poked beneath things and between blades of grass searching for clues.

"It's been a long time since we've had a lot of vehicles on fire like this," he added.   

However, Spokeswoman Liz Wylie confirmed the U-Haul facility had been targeted in a gas-siphoning scheme for about the past 10 months.

The company estimated that about $30,000 worth of gas had been
stolen from the trucks, which are parked in a large lot accessible by a
driveway, she said.

The siphoning had recently stopped after managers started blocking
off the driveway by lining up some of the trucks, Wylie shared.

"Based on the amount of gas being siphoned, we don't think it was
one person walking in with a plastic canister," she said. "We think it was more organized crime where people were coming with vehicles."

It was too early to tell today whether the fire was related to the
siphoning, Wylie added.

The Santa Clara County Fire Department and Palo Alto Fire Department provided mutual aid on the night of the fire.

Additional Reporting by Bay City News


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