EAST HEMET: Motorcycle abandoned after catching fire at gas station

EAST HEMET – A motorcycle that was abandoned after it caught fire at a gas station forced the temporary closure of the business Sunday, March 19. The blaze erupted at Shell gas station at the intersection of Florida Avenue and Stanford Street in the unincorporated area of East Hemet.

Fire personnel responded to the fire after multiple people called 911 to report the incident. They were assisted by deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Hemet Station and California Highway Patrol officers.

After they arrived, firefighters quickly knocked down the fire before it could spread to nearby pumps.

Witnesses told investigating officers they first became aware of the emergency when they saw the motorcycle already on fire. The burning motorcycle was mere feet away from one of the gas station’s row of pumps.

The motorcycle rider, who has not been identified, reportedly fled the scene immediately after the fire broke out.

A preliminary investigation into the fire determined the blaze started while the unknown subject had just pulled next to a row of pumps at the station. It was not immediately known if the fire began before or after fuel had been pumped into the motorcycle.

At the time of this report, California Highway Patrol officers were still working to determine if the motorcycle was stolen and why the rider had fled from the burning motorcycle.

It was not known if anyone who saw the operator of the motorcycle had come forward with information about the rider and no further information was immediately available.

The gas station reopened after firefighters extinguished the blaze and the charred motorcycle debris was cleared from the parking lot.

There were no reported injuries related to the fire.

Anyone with information related to this fire or who knows the operator of the motorcycle is encouraged to contact CHP officers from the San Gorgonio Area Station at (951) 767-2000. Callers can remain anonymous.

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Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.