As a barn erupts in flames Thursday, residents find their fears
of a meth lab explosion unfounded
The cause of a late afternoon fire that local authorities originally thought may have been an methamphetamine lab exploding was ruled to be “undetermined” by a California Department of Forestry arson investigator.
“I cannot rule out either accidental or incendiary as the cause, based on the physical evidence that was available,” CDF Fire Prevention Chief Steve Espe said Friday afternoon. “I found absolutely no evidence of a drug lab. If, during an investigation, I see anything that even remotely makes me think there might have been a cook going on, I immediately notify the Sheriff’s Office.”
The fire, which consumed a property at 15325 Sycamore Drive in a rural area in southeast Morgan Hill, was noticed by a neighbor at 4:50pm Thursday. Residents of the area watching the inferno Thursday said they heard explosions when the fire first ignited and law enforcement and firefighters on scene speculated the blaze may have been caused by the manufacture of methamphetamine which leaves extremely flammable chemical by-products.
A barn and a Ford pickup on the property were engulfed in flames, which quickly spread to surrounding dry brush. There were no injuries in the incident and firefighters were able to contain the blaze before it climbed a nearby hill.
A CDF helicopter circled for nearly an hour, dropping water on the fire. Firefighters said the crew likely scooped the water from nearby Chesbro reservoir.
CDF Battalion Chief Derek Witmer said four CDF engines responded, along with two water tankers and a bulldozer. South County Fire sent three engines and two water tenders, and Santa Clara County Fire sent Engine 12 and Patrol 12.
Espe said the cause of the fire might be something simple.
“I’m kind of leaning towards accidental – parking a hot engine in four-foot tall dry weeds,” he said.
Witmer said Thursday he did not want to comment on the possibility of a methamphetamine lab until the arson investigation was complete.
“We were very concerned, however, about what may have been in the barn,” he said.
The property is nestled between several hills in the midst of a residential neighborhood with houses less than a football field away.
Neighbors gathered a safe distance from the fire to exchange information and watch the firefighters’ progress Thursday evening.
Borg and neighbor James Dill said there had been “a lot of activity” around the property in the past few months, and they feared there might be a meth lab in the barn when they heard the minor explosions.
Borg said she also knew there was an old truck on the property and was concerned it could be parked in the barn.
Espe said the truck, a 1985 Ford pickup, was destroyed in the fire.
The burning truck, he added, may have been responsible for some of the mini “explosions” that worried neighbors. Other items on the property may have also made noises as they burned.
“You had two diesel tanks off-gassing, and I found several aerosol cans,” Espe said. “There were a couple of 55-gallon drums with their seams opened, and they didn’t go quietly. With the fuel tanks on the vehicle, you would intermittently get a combustible combination of fuel and oxygen which would cause reports.”
The fire burned extremely hot, Witmer and Espe said. Firefighters in their protective gear with 90-degree temperatures and 39 percent humidity would have experience heat of approximately 130 degrees, even without the heat of the fire, Espe said.
“The intensity of the fire contributed to it substantially,” he said. “That property was full of common combustibles, of extremely heavy and tall dry brush.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at md****@*************es.com or phoning (408)779-4106 Ext. 202.
