JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Approximately 600 car owners will be able to collect their vehicles from the hourly garage at the Jacksonville International Airport starting Wednesday after a fire forced the closure of the parking structure on Friday, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority Board said on Monday.
Airport officials said experts were in the process of identifying “safe” areas of the hourly garage, and those who parked their cars in these areas will be contacted by Jacksonville Aviation Authority staff within the next 48 hours to let them know they can collect their vehicles.
The Jacksonville Aviation Authority Board met early Monday and discussed the latest developments in the investigation into the fire that damaged at least 50 cars on Friday afternoon.
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At the meeting, officials shared a map of the parking garage, showing the different areas of the parking structure.
The right half of the map shows the daily parking garage, which is open. The left half is the hourly parking garage, the area impacted by the blaze.
Around 600 people who had their cars parked in the green zone (top left 2) of the hourly garage will be contacted by airport officials to pick up their vehicles, officials told News4JAX.
The dotted red line, which covers the valet pickup area for limos and shuttles, indicates that the area is closed.
Officials did not say when the vehicles parked in the red zone, about 550 cars, would be able to be collected since that part of the garage was structurally damaged. A “collapse zone” was also established.
The airport created an online form to update those who had cars affected by the fire. According to the board, nearly 100% of about 1,200 car owners impacted had filled out the form as of Monday morning.
John Cancelino, who used the valet service at JAX for the first time, said he was frustrated and worried since his car was inside the hourly parking garage.
As of Monday, he hadn’t heard any updates on the status of his car.
“They told me today, the gentleman was a little more helpful, but he told me that they don’t know if it was in the area that the fire happened, but if, even if it wasn’t in that immediate area, there’s still a possibility that the tires could be burned, smoke damage. But they don’t know, they can’t get in there,” Cancelino told News4JAX. “It’s the not knowing if my vehicle was in the fire or wasn’t in the fire, right? They’re not telling us anything. They don’t have any, you know, they won’t communicate anything with us.”
While Cancelino waited for the next steps, Alex McClary, who arrived in Jacksonville the day of the fire, said they missed the fire by minutes.
“We got our car and we left. We headed for our hotel, and when we got back today, we were talking to the lady who was driving the shuttle, and she told us there was a fire right before we left or right after we left, and we were just really shocked and just glad that we were able to get out of there a few minutes before the fire started,” McClary said.
MORE | Jacksonville officials dispel rumor that garage fire at airport was started by a Tesla
During the meeting, airport officials also dispelled a rumor that suggested the fire was started by a Tesla vehicle, and added that they were exploring the possibility that a hybrid car “may have been involved.”
Officials with the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Bureau and the State Fire Marshals Office were at the scene continuing their investigation.
With the busy Memorial Day weekend approaching, much of the on-site parking is expected to remain unavailable,and travelers are being asked to explore alternative parking options, such as Uber or Lyft, or to arrange rides with friends and family.
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