Vehicle burned down on Sunday morning, no injuries reported

TRYON – A large tree fell in downtown Tryon Sunday morning, temporarily leaving some businesses and residents without power and internet. The tree fell across E. Howard Street, striking the main power line and knocking down wires as it landed on a vehicle parked at Stott’s Ford, sparking a fire.

“The call came in at 2:40 a.m. The power line and trees were on fire and quickly ignited the car’s gas tank,” said Steven Siler, spokesman for the Tryon Fire Department. “The Tryon Fire Department was immediately on the scene and contacted Duke Power. We were unable to extinguish the fire with water as the power was still on and there was severe arcing in the area.”

The vehicle the tree fell on, a Ford Edge, burned. A second car was also damaged by the burning tree but did not explode.

Tryon Fire Department Assistant Chief Josh Connell was the incident commander and led rescue crews on their response. Units from the Landrum and Gowensville fire departments also responded, and a total of eight firefighters were on scene. It took Duke Energy about 35 minutes to arrive and shut off power, officials say, at which point the remaining fire and embers were quickly extinguished.

Work to repair the lines and stabilize the curve continued throughout Monday.

“Thanks to the efforts of the Landrum Fire Department, which provided water, and the Gowensville Fire Department, which protected the buildings, the fire was not able to spread to any other Stott’s buildings,” Siler said.

No injuries were reported.