GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - The smell of burning rubber could be smelled from miles away as a towering black cloud of smoke spewed into the air above Gridley last Tuesday evening.

At approximately 5:51 pm, a raging fire broke out on the north-west corner of Planet Auto Wholesales lot, located on the corner of Hwy 99 and West Liberty Road. Neighboring residents at the FEMA park could see the blaze jumping high into the tree-line just yards away from their homes. For many of them, the thick black smoke and high flames brought back horrible memories and bouts of PTSD.

Multiple fire engines and agencies responded quickly to the blaze, including both Truck and Engine 74 from Gridley, Water-tender 74 and Engine 73 from Biggs, Engine 274 out of Richvale, Engine 72 from Palermo, Engine 2180, Battalion 2117 IC, CA Highway Patrol and multiple units from Gridley PD.  Upon arrival, Firefighter Spencer Hall from Gridley’s Station 74 says that they encountered “a large amount of tires and old cars and trucks,” on fire. Due to the fire’s proximity to the railroad tracks, Union Pacific was alerted and asked to stop traffic until safe to resume. The blaze remained contained to the lot and damage was sustained predominantly by the trees and other junk/vehicles stored near the ignition site. Firefighter units were present on scene until 11:00 pm.

The official cause of the fire is currently under investigation. Residents in the neighborhood speculate that the fire could be attributed to a vagrant that has been seen in the area over the past 3 months. According to homeowners in the area, this man has allegedly been taken into custody for starting multiple small fires near Township Rd and Hwy 99 on at least 2 separate occasions.

Regardless, there were no injuries caused by the blaze.