Car destroyed, house damaged in Long Beach car fire, officials say

City of Long Beach firefighters are investigating the cause of an electrical fire that destroyed a parked car and damaged a Curley Street house.

"We had wires down under and around the car and the car was burning," Chief James Jacobi said. "Tires were exploding, the wires kept arcing and making loud booms."

Jacobi said about 30 to 40 firefighters responded to the scene. He said he called in aid from other departments as a precautionary measure.

The fire department responded Sunday to a report of a house struck by lightening in the area of Curley and E. Pine streets shortly after 6 p.m Sunday, according to the department's Facebook page. Upon arrival, crews found a heavily involved car fire, with electric lines down. Authorities said Monday they do not believe lightning was the cause, but are continuing to investigate.

Firefighters had to wait to extinguish the fire until PSEG could confirm that the power was cut to the line, Jacobi said.

"You can’t go in with water and put it on something with high voltage," he said.

Heat from the vehicle fire melted vinyl siding and a vinyl fence at 51 Curley St., authorities said. The burned four-door car was destroyed. A nearby Ford Bronco had minimal damage. No injuries were reported.