A huge fire erupted overnight at an RV dealership in Santa Fe Springs, California, after a suspicious person was seen at the lot around 12:30 a.m.
The blaze left approximately 15 recreational vehicles (RVs) destroyed or damaged as they were parked outside Mike Thompson’s RV Super Store on Thursday, Fox 11 reported.
Aerial video footage shows the RVs that were burned to the ground and their frames the only thing left:
Santa Fe Springs Fire Department Battalion Chief Victor Marin said officials are reviewing security footage to determine exactly what happened.
Whittier Police Department officers arrived at the scene after learning an intruder was spotted on video walking between trailers moments before the fire broke out. The officers called the fire department for assistance with the blaze.
The incident incurred an estimated $1.5 million in damages, and “Authorities added the lot has had issues with the homeless encampments at Coyote Creek nearby,” the Fox article said, noting the suspect left before officers arrived.
Loud bangs were heard as fire engulfed the RVs and firefighters worked to quell the blaze, per video footage. Meanwhile, the manager told KTLA the business’s alarm system went off when the suspect was reportedly on the lot:
When the firefighters arrived on the scene, they “went into defensive mode. They used aerial ladders to try and extinguish the flames. They were able to contain them to the dealership,” a reporter for the outlet said, noting the RVs destroyed were new and worth approximately $150,000 each. However, they were all insured.
Marin told NBC LA officials are working to determine if the fire was an arson case. The outlet also noted the manager of the store does not know how the person seen on video got onto the lot because it is secured by a gate:
He also told the outlet there are not holes in the gate and the security videos are what triggered the alarms.