Fred Sherrell shot video Saturday night of a large fire at Copart, a vehicle auction and remarketing site on Lott Road in Semmes. He says flames shot as high as 80 feet into the air and the exploding gas tanks sounded like gunfire. As he watched, he worried the fire might spread onto his property and worried about the smoke blowing by his home.

"Very toxic smoke, I mean burning tires, vehicles," said Sherrell.

The Semmes Fire and Rescue Chief says 20-30 vehicles were on fire, and it was all hands on deck to put the flames out. Chief Kevin Brooks says after crews finally got through the locked gates, they used all three engines and the water tank. Brooks says because the fire was in the back of the property and the only fire hydrant was at the street, it was too far to lay a line so they had to set up a shuttle system for the water.

"We sat and watched him put the fire out for a couple of hours," said Sherrell. "They did a great job of fighting the fire and putting it out very, very well. It was impressive."

Brooks says it's unknown what started the fire, and it's being turned over to the state fire marshal's office to investigate the cause.