Garden Grove : Car Fire on Freeway Spreads to Rooftops

Warm temperatures and light winds helped fan a car fire on the Garden Grove Freeway that quickly spread to dry brush and ignited several rooftops in a residential neighborhood, fire officials said Thursday.

“The potential for a very serious fire was tremendous,” Garden Grove Fire Department Battalion Chief Vincent Bonacker said. “It was a warm day and the neighborhood had a lot of wooden shake roofs.”

Firefighters responded about 4 p.m., when temperatures were in the high 80s, to a burning car parked on the westbound shoulder of the freeway near the Magnolia Street exit.

No one was injured in the incident, but authorities said a car driven by Robert Goertzen of Garden Grove was severely damaged by flames.

The fire quickly spread to thick, dry brush and building materials just north of the freeway, where a new automobile dealership was under construction, Bonacker said.

With firefighters with one fire truck putting out the car fire on the freeway, several other trucks had to be dispatched to fight the spreading blaze, Bonacker said.

He said embers fanned by light winds flew across Trask Avenue and landed on the shake roofs of about three homes, causing minor damage.