Art News

California Warehouse Fire Began in Neil Young’s Car

SAN CARLOS (AP).- A fire at a San Francisco Bay area warehouse where singer-songwriter Neil Young stored memorabilia started in a vintage car the singer had converted into a hybrid vehicle in a much publicized project to promote fuel-efficiency, authorities said. Belmont-San Carlos Fire Marshal Jim Palisi told the San Mateo County Times on Monday that the Nov. 9 fire began in Young’s 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible and spread to the warehouse. Fire crews were able to save about 70 percent of the 10,000-square-foot building’s contents, including other vintage cars, guitars and framed photos belonging to Young. The blaze caused an estimated $850,000 in damage to Young’s possessions and damaged his car, dubbed the LincVolt. The building suffered another $250,000 in damage, Palisi said. No one was injured. Young had converted the car to run on batteries and a biodiesel-powered generator as part of a project to create the world’s most efficient full-size vehicle. The white, 20-f