San Diego
A fire that caused $500,000 damage to a storage yard in the South Bay is being investigated for arson as other agencies check for possible hazardous chemical spills caused by the blaze, San Diego Fire Department officials said Thursday.
Fire Capt. Al Macdonald said the fire occurred Wednesday at the McClurken Machinery company storage yard in the 2400 block of Grove Avenue south of Interstate 5.
The 13,000-square-foot yard was filled with about 400 old cars, heavy machinery such as tractors, propane and oxygen containers, cleaning solvent and paint.
At one point, water used to fight the fire began to seep into a nearby creek that drains into San Diego Bay, but the seepage was stopped after someone using a tractor built a makeshift dike.
Fire officials said it will take several days before the fire’s cause is determined.
Agencies such as the California Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Coast Guard, the County Department of Health and the Fire Department’s hazardous materials team on Thursday were helping clean up and checking for spills, fire officials said.
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