SFGate, San Francisco
(TNS)
Aug. 20—A concept car valued at $1 million was destroyed when a vehicle trailer caught fire on a Highway 1 offramp on Sunday night, according to the Monterey Fire Department.
Crews responded to the fire at 7 p.m. and found the vehicle trailer engulfed in flames on a ramp from the highway's northbound lanes to Munras Avenue in Monterey. Firefighters created a fire line to stop the flames, which had ignited nearby vegetation, from spreading farther, and they extinguished the blaze in 15 minutes, according to a news release from the fire department.
The vehicle towing the trailer "sustained minor damage," but the 1979 Ford Ghia Probe 1 concept car was completely destroyed. Concept cars are created to demonstrate new or unique styles and technology, and are often displayed at motor shows. The Ford was in Monterey for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, an annual car show held on Sunday.
The fire department estimates that the total damage done by the fire amounts to $1,028,300, the release said. A firefighter sustained a minor injury during "overhaul operations," but no civilian injuries were reported, according to the release.
In a post on Instagram, the company that owned the car — Scott Grundfor Company, an auto restoration service in Arroyo Grande — mourned the loss of the vehicle.
"We are a family oriented company, and it feels like we have lost a member of our family today," the post said. "We are incredibly grateful that our team member driving the trailer at the time this accident occurred was unharmed, and his immediate action prevented this tragic loss of our car from spreading to local foliage and of course to other people who were driving on the highway in Monterey at the time."
Officers with the Monterey County Sheriff's Office and the California Highway Patrol assisted the 17 firefighters who responded to the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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