Fire Destroys 14 Vintage Cars Valued At $1 Million
SONOMA COUNTY -- A one-alarm fire Friday night did about $1 million in damage at a vintage car restoration shop in unincorporated Sonoma County, officials with the Central Fire Authority of Sonoma County said Saturday.
Firefighters were dispatched at 9:07 p.m. to Stokes Ranch at 5525 Old Redwood Highway where the fire consumed 14 vintage cars and 60 percent of a 12,000 square feet shop.
The fire was under control at 10:22 p.m. The cause and origin is under investigation, fire authority Battalion Chief Ron Busch said.
"It was pretty disheartening," said owner Fred Stoke in an interview with the Press Democrat. The 80-year-old has devoted most of his life to restore classic cars. His favorites are 1930s Fords and 1960s Mustangs.
The burned cars include a 1932 Ford Highboy Roadster, a car that TV host/car collector Jay Leno called, "the most iconic hot rod of all time."
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