Grass fire at Niagara lavender festival damages 34 cars
Posted July 8, 2018 9:20 pm.
Last Updated July 8, 2018 10:06 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A total of 34 cars were damaged after a grass fire broke out at the Lavender Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Sunday.
According to Niagara-on-the-Lake Fire Chief Rob Grimwood the fire started just before 4 p.m. in a hay field which was being used by organizers of the festival as an overflow parking lot.
Grimwood says they had previously advised organizers not to use the field due to the dry conditions of the grass.
It appears the hot underside of a car parked on the field coupled with the dry straw sparked the fire, which was noticed by a parking lot attendant. The individual attempted to put the fire out but the dry conditions of the field enabled the fire to spread quickly.
It took 11 fire trucks and approximately 40 volunteer firefighters to put out the blaze.
Grimwood says no one was injured in the fire but 19 vehicles were completely destroyed while another 15 suffered fire damage.
Losses are expected to exceed $1-million but no charges are likely to be laid as the incident does not fall under the fire code, according to Grimwood.
