OILDALE - Was it senseless vandalism or perhaps something more sinister? Whatever the reason, six cars are destroyed, all parked on the same street in Oildale.
Fire investigators surprised no one by calling the fires suspicious. Kern County fire investigators say the fires started early Sunday morning near Merle Haggard Drive and McCray Street. Seven cars were set on fire, six of those were a total loss.
Neighbor Jesse Whitmore caught the flames on home video.
"We get a knock on the door and someone is telling us there is a fire outside. Come out and there was a row of cars completely ablaze," said neighbor Tyler Thompson.
Neighbors say they heard a loud noise around 4 a.m. Sunday, before they saw the fires.
"Those six cars were completely unusable and had to be towed away. Almost all of their tires were basically blown out. There was only a couple of them that weren't. Entire interiors were burned out, everything in their trunks and cars, everything was a total loss," said neighbor Mitchell Shepard.
Kern County Fire investigators are in the early stages of an investigation, but they are treating these fires as suspicious.
"Once a car or vehicle does catch on fire, it burns rapidly. Whether it's from the engine bay to passenger compartment or from the passenger compartment. And, at that point when firefighters arrive on scene, the majority of time the car is very much fully ablaze, so the windows do break because of the heat. The tires do melt and pop because of the melting rubber," said Sean Collins, Kern County Fire Public Information Officer.
One neighbor seems to think it was just random vandalism. But, the fire department says it's too early to tell.
Fire investigators are looking for anyone with information about these fires. You can call their anonymous tip line at 1-877-fire tip.
Fire investigators surprised no one by calling the fires suspicious. Kern County fire investigators say the fires started early Sunday morning near Merle Haggard Drive and McCray Street. Seven cars were set on fire, six of those were a total loss.
Neighbor Jesse Whitmore caught the flames on home video.
"We get a knock on the door and someone is telling us there is a fire outside. Come out and there was a row of cars completely ablaze," said neighbor Tyler Thompson.
Neighbors say they heard a loud noise around 4 a.m. Sunday, before they saw the fires.
"Those six cars were completely unusable and had to be towed away. Almost all of their tires were basically blown out. There was only a couple of them that weren't. Entire interiors were burned out, everything in their trunks and cars, everything was a total loss," said neighbor Mitchell Shepard.
Kern County Fire investigators are in the early stages of an investigation, but they are treating these fires as suspicious.
"Once a car or vehicle does catch on fire, it burns rapidly. Whether it's from the engine bay to passenger compartment or from the passenger compartment. And, at that point when firefighters arrive on scene, the majority of time the car is very much fully ablaze, so the windows do break because of the heat. The tires do melt and pop because of the melting rubber," said Sean Collins, Kern County Fire Public Information Officer.
One neighbor seems to think it was just random vandalism. But, the fire department says it's too early to tell.
Fire investigators are looking for anyone with information about these fires. You can call their anonymous tip line at 1-877-fire tip.