Two Explosions Rock Frazier Park

  • Firefighters from Kern County Fire Stations 56 and 57 helped contain this fire in Frazier Park, but could not save the exploding 1991 Econoline.

    Firefighters from Kern County Fire Stations 56 and 57 helped contain this fire in Frazier Park, but could not save the exploding 1991 Econoline.

Two explosions were heard in downtown Frazier Park at about 4:20 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15 as a camping van was gutted by fire in the parking lot across from Coffee Cantina on Mt. Pinos Way.

Rudy and Ardyna Cramp were on their way from Reno, Nevada to Long Beach. They decided to stop in Frazier Park. “We just pulled over to take the dog for a walk,” Cramp told The Mountain Enterprise. “Within a few minutes the van started burning,” he said as he watched his 1991 Ford Econoline van burn to a crisp.

Kern County Fire stations 56 and 57 responded with Battalion 5 Chief John Smith. A Kern County Sheriff’s deputy kept motorists from entering the area on Mt. Pinos Way, as another explosion sent debris shooting across the lot where the van was parked.

Cramp did not know the source of the explosions, but assumed it was from either the propane tank or the gasoline tank, or both.

The Cramps did not know how they would get home and were inquiring with bystanders about how to rent a car in Frazier Park.

This is part of the January 21, 2011 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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