A strike team of nearly 20 firefighters were called to render mutual aid Thursday afternoon to the Modesto Fire Department as they battled a wrecking yard fire on Crows Landing.
Five trucks coming from Ripon, Manteca, Escalon, Collegeville and Farmington departments under the command of strike team leader Dave Ingram of the Clements department staged at the Ripon Fire Department.
Modesto and Salida departments had been working the fire at Crows Landing and Mitchell Avenue since 1:30 p.m. They had all available fire engines deployed when they called for more resources from San Joaquin County.
It was shortly after 5 p.m. when all of the five departments’ engines were parked in a row at the fire station on Stockton Avenue in Ripon making sure their supply of water and ice was adequate to carry them through the afternoon.
Ripon Battalion Chief Marty Corneilsen and Manteca Battalion Chief Dave Marques were with their firefighters as they prepared to get on Highway 99 that was filled with late afternoon commute traffic and the residual effects of a traffic accident. They arrived on the scene at 5:45 p.m. and received their assignments.
It was unclear how the fire had started. The ongoing challenge were tires still on many of the vehicles and gasoline that remained in some of the tanks.

To contact Glenn Kahl, email gkahl@mantecabulletin.com.