73 Vehicles Destroyed By Fire At Texas Farm That May Have Been Started By Cigarette

Approximately 73 vehicles were destroyed by a fire at a farm in Temple, Texas over the weekend.

The blaze started in a parking area at the Robinson Family Farm at approximately 1:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The farm’s annual Fall Festival was being held at the time and attracted hundreds of people, many of which were in the pumpkin patch when the fire started nearby.

Bell Country Fire Marshal Chris Mahlstedt said the cause of the fire has yet to be confirmed but thinks it may have been triggered by a cigarette that was “improperly discarded” on the grass parking lot. Local fire departments were only able to put out the flames just before 3:30 p.m. Fortunately, no one was injured.

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Footage from the inferno shows thick plums of black smoke billowing into the sky as some attendees rushed towards the flames to try and save their vehicles.

Speaking with KCENTV, those who witnessed the fire say it spread quickly.

“It was never a small fire,” farm owner Helen Robinson said. “It was just big from the get-go and unfortunately it did get bigger until we were able to get the emergency personnel here to start putting it out. It is definitely stressful and it is definitely not the experience we want for our customers. I am so thankful that we didn’t experience a bigger loss… At the end of the day, it is about community and making sure that everybody has the time in growing memories and we want them to come back out and experience the good that the Robinson Family Farm has to offer.”