Fire destroys minivan stuck in Madras parking lot snow

A minivan that became high-centered and stuck in the snow in the landscaping of a Madras fast-food parking lot was destroyed by an early-morning fire Sunday, the second such blaze in the area this week, officials said.

Jefferson County Fire District No. 1 crews were dispatched around 4:40 a.m. to the reported vehicle fire, with occupants possibly still inside, in the Taco Bell parking lot at 44 SW Fifth Street, fire Captain Kasey Skaar said.

They arrived to find the minivan stuck in the snow on the parking lot landscape bed and the van fully ablaze, with one occupant out of the vehicle, Skaar said.

No immediate exposures were threatened by the fire, he added.

The driver appeared uninjured but could not remember the details of the incident, Skaar said. Jefferson County EMA took the driver to St. Charles Madras for evaluation.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze and determined the minivan had no other occupants, he said.

Skaar said the minivan’s wheels appeared to have spun and buried into the landscape. He said the fire may have been caused by “vehicle stress and overheating, leading to component failure.” But with no credible witnesses and the vehicle destroyed by fire, determining the cause for certain would be difficult.

“This is the second car stuck in snow that caught fire this week,” Skaar said in a news release.

Madras police also assisted at the scene.