08/11/2010: "Car Headed For Wrecking Yard Catches Fire"

According to Sheriff Department records, Averell Rennie, 18, recently moved to San Juan Island, where he is reported to have rolled his jeep Wagoneer station wagon after it went off the road near his parent’s home on Whitepoint.

The car was damaged enough that it was decided to junk it, and since it could still be driven, Rennie decided he would drive it to a junk yard on the main land.


However, as he approached the ferry line lot the car began to smoke, and then burn.

One of the first responders said the fire may have started as a result of damage from the roll-over accident to the bracket that held the car battery in place, allowing it to short out and start the fire.

The good news is the car was not parked in line and did not make it onto the ferry, and there were a number of citizens who responded with fire extinguishers to hold down the flames until the Friday Harbor Fire Department took over. No one was injured. As for the car, it will now be transported off the island by a professional transporting company.