MISSOULA — Multiple fire crews from the Missoula area responded to a large fire Sunday afternoon at Axmen Recycling, where more than 100 stacked cars burned in the wrecking yard with flames reaching up to 50 feet high.
The fire was reported just before 1 p.m. at the Wye. The initial cause was not clear.
Missoula Rural Fire District Battalion Chief Ron Lubke said crews arrived to find cars stacked 3 to 6 high and fully engulfed.
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"They arrived to find a large pile of cars on fire, some cars anywhere from 3 to 6 stacked high. Probably we're estimating at least 100 cars, possibly more, that were on fire. We had about 50 ft flames coming off the pile on arrival," Lubke said.
Lubke said the fire involved cars that had not yet been processed by the recycling center, meaning oil, gas and other flammable fluids were still inside, adding to the intensity of the fire. Some tires and potentially fuel tanks were exploding at the scene. No injuries were reported.
Buildings on the property were threatened when crews arrived.
"We did have some buildings that were threatened when we arrived. That was our priority was to keep the fire from getting into the buildings or into other piles of junk cars," Lubke said.
Because there are no fire hydrants in the immediate area, water tenders established a continuous water shuttle operation that delivered more than 240,000 gallons of water to the scene.
Lubke called for mutual aid, bringing in crews from Frenchtown, Missoula City, East Missoula, Florence, Arlee and Missoula Airport Public Safety. Missoula Emergency Services also provided standby medical support with an ambulance crew, and deputies from the Missoula County Sheriff's Office assisted with traffic and crowd control throughout the incident.
Guy Hanson, who co-owns Axmen, said his team was on scene assisting fire crews and had already put in preventative firebreaks in the yard.
"A couple of my guys showed up for work. They're here now, and what they're doing is they're using the excavator to grab the cars and pull them off. Sometimes the cars are burning when they do it. Then they drop them, the fire department puts them out, then we put them away, and we just have to systematically go through the whole pile until we know they're all out," Hanson said.
A witness who was among the first to spot the fire said the situation was immediately alarming.
"1 of my friends noticed a plume of smoke, called me, and so I ran out here. He called 911. It was obvious that there was a fire," the witness said.
Hanson credited fire crews with preventing a far worse outcome.
"It could have been a lot worse. I'm always thankful to miss that one. Thanks to the fire department. I mean, they do great work and you only really appreciate it when you need them and they show up," Hanson said.
The scene has been turned over to Axmen Auto Salvage personnel, who will monitor the area throughout the night. Missoula Rural Fire District crews will also conduct periodic checks of the scene to ensure there are no rekindles or other hazards.
No firefighter or civilian injuries were reported.
This article has been updated to include information from the Missoula Rural Fire District press release.
