Shortly before 9 p.m Monday, a motorhome caught fire on Old Highway 66 behind Harbor Freight in Town West Shopping Center.
Sapulpa Residents Ben and Melissa Miller were coming back from Tulsa on Skelly Drive when they saw smoke and flames rising above the Harbor Freight. Thinking the store was on fire, they drove into the shopping center parking lot and discovered that the fire was behind the store. Melissa Miller said the heat from the flames was so intense she could feel it standing at the edge of the parking lot.
At the time the Millers arrived, the only firefighters present were a grass rig from Berryhill and one firefighter trying to keep the surrounding grass from catching fire.
Units from the Sapulpa police and fire departments subsequently arrived on the scene.
Bystander Bobby Berryhill said he was on his way into the nearby QuikTrip when he heard an explosion and turned around and saw flames he estimated reaching 30 feet in the air.
The manager of Harbor Freight told the Sapulpa Times that he heard a series of three explosions and thought there had been a train derailment. He said he immediately evacuated the store.
Officer Pate, who was there for traffic control, told the Sapulpa Times that no one was in the motor home when it exploded and that there was an apparent brake issue with the vehicle.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze leaving the rear portion of the RV completely destroyed. The name of the owners had not been released at the time of publication.
