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Arson suspected in truck fire

Police suspect arson is to blame for a dramatic vehicle fire that awoke residents in the 1800 block of Ednamary Way in the wee hours of Monday morning.

A white Chevrolet pickup truck parked in the back lot of the Office Depot, located at 910 El Monte Ave., caught fire around 3 a.m. Aug. 9, said Mountain View police spokeswoman Liz Wylie. A nearby resident reported hearing a sound like an explosion when the truck first caught fire.

Magda Lira, who lives nearby on Ednamary Way, said her roommate woke her up around 3 a.m. to alert her of the fire. She said police evacuated the apartment building nearest the blaze.

Lira said she believes the pickup had been parked in the same spot behind the Office Depot for about a year, and assumed it was abandoned.

Wylie reported that the truck had been parked for about two months, but said she, too, suspected it was abandoned.

The fire department extinguished the fire, which police are investigating as an arson, Wylie said. The truck was destroyed by the flames.

—Nick Veronin