Fire Consumes Multiple Cars in Hermiston Wrecking Yard

Fire investigators are still searching for the cause of a fire that torched several vehicles in a Hermiston car lot on Monday.

 Several cars on fire in the wrecking yard when crews arrive

Around 12:36 PM, Umatilla County Fire District 1 responded to Bert’s Auto Savage, located on Baggot Lane north of Hermiston near Highway 395, and when they arrived, found several cars on fire.

A large plume of black smoke was seen for several hours as crews worked to put out each vehicle. Some of them were lifted off the ground with a large lift machine, so they could be blasted with water to put out the fire.

Finally, around 3:27 PM,  Umatilla Fire declared the fires were out and the situation was under control. Most of the crews were released, and a few firefighters remained to monitor any hot spots. Crews from Echo and the Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District also aided in the effort.

Officials have not said what triggered the fires, the vehicles were in the salvage portion of the lot when they went up in smoke.