Suspicious Merced fire caps quiet Halloween weekend in county

Police may have anticipated a Halloween night full of mischief, but Saturday’s festivities in Merced County didn’t include much that was out of the ordinary, officers said.

“We expected it to be busy, but it turned out no different than any typical Saturday or Friday night,” Merced police Sgt. Jay Struble said.

A suspicious fire reported around 4:30 a.m. Sunday damaged a pile of about 300 railroad ties at the BNSF storage yard in the area of 25th and G streets, police and firefighters reported.

“That was the only real unusual activity reported,” Struble said.

Nobody was injured. A damage estimate was not available Sunday.

Fire Battalion Chief Billy Alcorn said it took firefighters about 30 minutes to get the flames under control. The cause of the fire remained under investigation Sunday, he said.

Other law enforcement and fire agencies in Merced County also said Halloween night was relatively quiet with no unusual incidents.

This story was originally published November 1, 2015 at 4:16 PM with the headline "Suspicious Merced fire caps quiet Halloween weekend in county."