Fires in Story County junk yards may be arson

Ames police and the Story County Sheriff’s Department are investigating a series of fires at car storage lots in Ames, McCallsburg and Story City. Sergeant Mike Johns says the first fire was reported at a lot around eight o’clock last night. He says another fire was reported at three-forty a-m involving 21 cars. Johns says the cars are stored by businesses and used for parts or the cars are going to be repaired. There are approximately 40 vehicles. Johns says the fires are suspicious and they’re trying to determine the origin of the fires. Captain Gary Foster of the Story County Sheriff’s Department says there was also a fire last night at the Thompson Auto Parts car storage yard in McCallsburg. He says they estimated there were 500 cars on the lot and about half of them were on fire. He says over half a dozen area fire departments responded to the fire. He says they had to truck in water from other communities to have enough water to fight the fire. Foster says his department is working with Ames police and fire officials and other fire officials in the county in the investigation, as the fires are similar in nature.Foster says they’ve learned another fire was started at an auto body storage lot in Story City, but that fire died out before burning very far.