Fire Sweeps Through California Ford Dealership, Damaging Up to 20 Vehicles

A large fire tore through the service department at a California Ford dealership early Thursday morning, damaging up to 20 vehicles before firefighters prevented the flames from spreading, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 4:20 a.m. Thursday at the AutoNation Ford dealership on Creekside Road in Santa Clarita, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

When firefighters arrived, they found a repair building measuring approximately 30 by 200 feet fully engulfed in flames, with 15 to 20 vehicles burning inside and around the structure.

Because the fire had already burned through the roof, crews immediately shifted to a defensive strategy, fighting the blaze from outside instead of entering the building.

“It was fully involved where we couldn’t make access to the building,” L.A. County Fire Battalion Chief Josh Tibbett said. “There were no firefighter injuries or civilian injuries.”

Firefighters briefly requested a second alarm and positioned additional resources nearby in case the fire spread to neighboring businesses.

The repair facility is located next to another auto dealership, but crews kept the flames from spreading beyond the AutoNation property.

“We had no extension into that building,” Tibbett said. “We sent units over there and had them checking immediately.”

The fire was ultimately contained within the dealership’s L-shaped service building, which is separate from the main showroom but located on the same property.

Investigators believe the fire may have started around 3 a.m., more than an hour before it was reported to emergency responders. The cause remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Tibbett said many of the damaged vehicles appeared to be older models waiting for repairs, although he could not confirm whether they belonged to customers or the dealership.

An Uber driver who witnessed the fire before emergency crews arrived said he initially believed part of the building had exploded.

“I was like, ‘Did that building just blow up?'” witness Chyna McCoy recalled. “Then it went boom again.”

McCoy said the heat could be felt from outside the dealership and that the fire looked even more intense in person than it appeared on his cellphone.

“My phone doesn’t give the description looking at it in real time,” he said.

No injuries were reported.