VIDEO: Burbank resident captures gas fire that ignited cars, charred stretch of road

BURBANK, Calif. (KABC) -- A fence fire quickly turned into a hazardous materials fire that spread down a Burbank street earlier this month and the scary scene was caught on video.

The river of fire flowed down the road, charring cars and anything else in its path. Patricia Crownover captured the fiery scene on camera as firefighters rushed to stop the flames.

"It was incredible. Really strange. A river of fire coming down. It was unbelievable," she said.

It happened on March 4 on Lincoln Street. The fire department said it started as a fence fire, but then spread when a large container holding some type of flammable liquid melted and sent the blaze down the road.

"A loud explosion, I looked up and saw a huge plume of black smoke. Just as I saw that, I saw fire pouring down the street in the gutter, all the way down, and the car in front of my house ignited," resident Elliot Mitchell said.

Half a dozen cars burst into flames, with three of them completely destroyed including Henrik Helgesen's Ford Escape.

"By the time I got my keys, I opened the door, my tires started burning," he said. "The most surreal thing you've ever seen. It just creeped down the gutter."

An off-duty firefighter brought in sand to finally stop the flow as residents watched in disbelief.

Residents said no one was hurt. While investigators believe it was an accident, the incident remains under investigation.