Silver City RV Park fire hits four trailers

MINDEN - Fire investigators are examining the possibility a Sunday trailer fire at Silver City RV Park in Carson Valley was arson.

Three trailers and a motor home were damaged by the fire that started 1 p.m. in an unoccupied Prowler travel trailer

Extra crews were called in from the Genoa and Gardnerville Ranchos volunteer fire departments to assist the Douglas County Engine Company and the Jacks Valley, Gardnerville and Johnson Lane volunteer fire departments in fighting the fire.

"The winds were 15 to 25 knots out of the West," said Terry Taylor, East Fork Fire and Paramedic Districts fire captain and investigator. "The concern was, because the fire was near the end of the storage area, (it would) burn over to Hot Springs."

He credits District Fire Chief Tod Carlini, incident commander, with calling the second alarm fire for extra resources "almost immediately."

"You've got a real problem with wind-driven behavior," Taylor said. "It's highly erratic."

"It spread to a motor home and two other trailers," Taylor said.

The Prowler owner is believed to be in Reno and has not been contacted. The motor home, belonging to a South Lake Tahoe resident, had just been moved to the RV park and was "completely totaled" by the fire, Taylor said.

The two other trailers received damage, but were saved for the most part.

The fire, extinguished about 45 minutes after its initial report, kept some firefighters at the scene "mopping up" until about 5 p.m., Taylor said.

The cause of the fire could possibly be arson.

"The trailer was not hooked up to anything," Taylor said. "Most of the trailers are plugged into power and water and everything else. None of these units were hooked into anything. They have battery power and propane tanks, but they're not plugged in and being operated."

Fire damage is estimated at $60,000, but Taylor said that figure could rise.