On Aug. 19, at approximately 4 p.m., a trailer fire in a Santa Rosa scrapyard resulted in multiple vehicles burning, with toxic fumes flying through the air.

According to the Press Democrat, a charter bus company known as Thunderstar Stages is responsible for the blaze. The fire reportedly began when a bus mechanic accidentally spilled diesel fuel while using an acetylene torch. The fire was then amplified by gasoline being stored in the surrounding area.

Damages from the fire quickly became extensive, with 13 buses being destroyed. At least four of these busses belonged to Thunderstar Stages, who were renting a space on the property.  Additionally, multiple cars and trucks as well as boats also went up in flames. Fortunately, the fire was contained to the property and did not spread to surrounding areas.

Currently there are no reports of either deaths or serious injuries from the fire.

This incident was particularly dangerous due to the types of materials that were burning. The concern of hazardous waste in smoke prompted officials to send out an emergency alert to all residents in a 1 square mile radius of the blaze. This alert told the residents to initiate a shelter in place.  In addition to the multiple busses and cars, a large stack of tires also caught fire, creating more concern.

As a safety precaution, the SMART (Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit) train which runs through the area was delayed. According to the official SMART Twitter feed, the train was delayed for approximately 35 minutes until the fire was put under control. 

Fire departments from nearby counties and California Highway Patrol shut down many of the surrounding roads, according to KRON 4. 

After the fire, questions were raised as to whether or not safety precautions had been followed on the property. It was suspected that improper storage of chemicals and fuel could have contributed to the intensity of the fire. According to the Press Democrat, the owner of the lot, Mary Dalley, had no comment on this situation. 

Making matters worse, the accessibility of resources for firefighters at the junkyard was poor. Fire hydrants were not present on the lot, meaning that water had to be brought onto the scene. This played a role in the difficulty of putting out the fire. Fire Chief Mike Elson from Sonoma County told the Press Democrat that this was “a significant fire” due to the water issues that were present, and that it was more difficult than usual because of this.

While the fire itself was dealt with by multiple fire agencies and put down within 4 hours, the concern that this incident generated was the response time from the emergency alert system.

Sonoma County Fire Chief Mark Heine exclaimed that he was disappointed with the delays in the system. 

Even though the fire broke out around 4 p.m., the message did not get relayed until approximately 5:30. Even worse, a lack of a Spanish translator on duty meant that the Spanish alert was sent out almost a half-hour after this. 

This same experience occurred during the Tubbs fire, where Spanish speakers in the area did not receive a notice on time. 

Chris Godley is the current head of Sonoma County’s emergency center. He exclaimed that even though the county is having trouble with technology, hearing back from the community is what helps them to develop a better system.