What to Know
- A used car dealership and more than 20 cars were destroyed after a fire tore through an HBO set in Ulster County, officials said
- The fire broke out at 613 Automotive Group on Main Street in Ellenville, New York around 2 a.m. on Thursday
- HBO had been using the space to shoot a miniseries called “I Know This Much Is True,” starring Mark Ruffalo and Melissa Leo
A used car dealership and more than 20 cars were destroyed after an "inferno" tore through an HBO set in Ulster County, officials and the owner said.
The fire broke out at 613 Automotive Group on Main Street in Ellenville around 2 a.m. on Thursday, officials said.
HBO had been using the space to shoot a miniseries called “I Know This Much Is True,” starring Mark Ruffalo and Melissa Leo.
"The first thing I said was, 'Holy cow,' you know? This is big. I mean, this was an inferno," Ellenville Police Department Chief Philip Mattracion told News 4.
No one was hurt, but the fire reduced the dealership to rubble and destroyed millions of dollars worth of equipment, including more than 20 vehicles — some of which were classic cars.
Firefighters from 15 different companies worked to put out the blaze.
Local
"I saw flames, 90, 100 feet up in the sky,” dealership owner Levi Hecht told News 4. "I saw like, mini bombs going off, because there were small explosions going on.”
Neighbors said the fire sent huge ashes flying through the air.
"There was booming going off. My son woke me up and said, 'Mom, it sounds like gunshots over there where they're making the movie,'" Ellenville resident Debbie Streccyk said.
Locals said the dealership was an Ellenville landmark. "It still hasn't sunk in," resident Walter Yeager said. "It still hasn't sunk in."
It wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the blaze.
"Everybody was so excited that we were doing a movie shoot here…. HBO and everybody was excited. Only good things,” Hecht said. "And [now], devastation.”
