The three-alarm fire that erupted on Wednesday around 2:30 p.m. at Canyon Lake Storage on Loch Lomond Drive destroyed dozens of RVs, along with some boats and vehicles stored inside of toy haulers. Many more were damaged. One firefighter sustained minor burns to his hands.
The fire caused an estimated $15 million in damages, according to Canyon Lake City Manager Chris Mann. “Riverside County Emergency Management Department was put in charge of estimating the total loss,” Mann said. “While we don’t yet have the official numbers, at the moment it looks like the estimate is around $15 million.”
Mann and Canyon Lake Interim Fire Chief Jeff LaTendresse were on the scene of the fire and observed Cal Fire’s response, which was substantial. The following day, Mann met with a HAZMAT team from Riverside County Environmental Health and with the property owner to discuss the cleanup of the property.
“Environmental Health will continue to work with the property owner on the cleanup and the city will monitor the situation,” Mann said. “The city has been in close contact with EVMWD, which has investigated to ascertain if there have been any impacts to water quality in the lake.”
It appears that the water quality in the lake was not impacted, according to Mann. “EVMWD staff surveyed the discharge point at the lake by foot and by boat yesterday and did not find any visual signs of contamination or foreign debris in the water,” Mann said. “They did not see evidence that any of the water used to fight the fire made it into the lake.”
Arson does not appear to be the cause of the fire. “We do not yet have a report from the arson investigators,” Mann said. “However, an initial verbal report from Battalion Chief Dan Harris yesterday morning indicated that the incident was an accident caused by a motorhome engine that caught fire and quickly spread.”
Seventy-five firefighters from 17 engine companies responded to the fire. Thick black smoke pouring into the skies could be seen from miles away. Several explosions occurred, most likely caused by propane tanks overheating. Cal Fire also reported power lines down in the area.
“It will likely take a couple of weeks before we have the full incident report from Riverside County Fire/Cal Fire,” Mann said. “The City will keep the public notified should things change as we receive additional information from Riverside County Fire/Cal Fire, Environmental Health, and EVMWD.”
For more information about the storage fire, click here.
