Fire guts idled train car in Willits

Fire gutted an older, idled rail car stored near the Willits train depot Sunday, according to fire and railroad security officials.

The fire was reported just after 3 p.m., according to Paul Trouette, whose security company monitors the train tracks for Northwestern Pacific Railroad.

He said he was patrolling the south end of the tracks when he saw smoke near the depot. Firefighters extinguished the fire, but the rail car is probably a total loss, Trouette said.

A Skunk Train employee reported she’d seen several boys who appeared to be of high school age near the unused, former Amtrak train Sunday morning before hearing a loud bang, Trouette said.

“It could have been fireworks,” he said, adding the fire may have simmered before exploding inside the car. Trouette said there is a history of teens vandalizing the trains.