Firefighters stop Rancho Cordova wrecking yard fire after up to 100 vehicles burn

Flames raced through rows of vehicles at a Rancho Cordova salvage yard Friday evening, engulfing between 50 and 100 vehicles before more than 70 firefighters contained the blaze and kept it from spreading to neighboring businesses.

The fire was reported about 5:45 p.m. at Truck Time Auto Wrecking in the 3400 block of Recycle Road near Sunrise Boulevard and Douglas Road. Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews arrived to find the salvage yard and multiple vehicles inside engulfed.

Metro Fire spokesperson Capt. Mark Nunez said the fire appeared to have started somewhere in the middle of the property before spreading through rows of stacked vehicles. The blaze remained confined to the wrecking yard property, despite briefly jumping a fence and igniting vegetation to the west. The grass fire was quickly contained at about 2 acres, he said.

“This could have been a lot worse if crews didn’t get here as fast as they did,” Nunez told reporters. “We were able to get hose lines in as fast as we did. You could have seen this fire actually grow to multiple properties and even jumping the road and getting into another yard.”

A Metro Fire helicopter made repeated water drops as firefighters attacked the flames from the ground before being released around 7:40 p.m. Crews remained at the scene Friday night searching for hot spots and completing mop-up operations.

An aerial photo shared by Metro Fire showed heavy smoke billowing from the wrecking yard as firefighters battled flames burning through rows of tightly packed trucks and other vehicles. The smoke plume was visible across portions of eastern Sacramento County, including Arden Arcade, Folsom and Rosemont.

Nunez said firefighters adopted a defensive strategy because vehicles were stacked about four high and posed a risk of collapsing as they burned.

“Our crews were very methodical in how they attacked this fire,” he said.

The smoke from the burning vehicles contained hazardous materials commonly found in automobiles, including fuels, oils and interior components, Nunez said, although steady winds helped disperse the smoke.

Firefighters were also investigating whether lithium-ion batteries were involved in the blaze.

No injuries were reported to workers or firefighters.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Friday night. Nunez said investigators planned to interview an employee who was working at the business when the blaze began.

This story was originally published July 3, 2026 at 6:32 PM.