A fire that started outside a car lot in Indianapolis has destroyed around 40 cars that were due to be sold at a salvage auction. The devastating fire started in the middle of the night at a lot owned by Insurance Auto Auctions at 3202 South Harding Street. Firefighters arrived at the scene at t 1:46 AM and it took around an hour and a half to extinguish the blaze.

The fire was under control by 3:26 AM. Fortunately, there were no injuries or deaths, but dozens of cars perished in the inferno. Photos and video footage of the devastation shared by the Indianapolis Fire Department show rows of cars engulfed by flames at the auction lot.

Among the cars that were burnt to a crisp in the fire include a last-generation Kia Soul, a Jeep Renegade, a Chrysler 200, and a fourth-generation Chrysler minivan. The most valuable car reduced to melted metal appears to be a Mercedes E-Class. The only consolation is that they were junk cars that were already severely damaged and deemed total losses. They were due to be sold at auction for parts or rebuild projects, but they clearly won't be salvageable anymore.

To put out the fire, tanker trucks entered to bring water deep into the auto yard. Forklifts were also used to raise move other cars away from the fire to try and save them.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it's believed it may have been started by a lightning strike as thunderstorms were reported in the area on the night the fire started. This incident happened not long after floods in Arizona washed away a Toyota Prius and a brand new BMW M3 was damaged by floods in New York caused by Storm Ida. With so many cars destroyed, the cost of the damage caused by the auction lot fire will be high, but no estimates have been released yet. Still, we must applaud the local fire department for getting the fiery inferno under control as quickly as it did.