‘So Much for a Nice Night Out’: Fire Clears San Jose Drive-In Movie Theater

Locals hoping for a night out to break the lockdown monotony had their fun cut short at a drive-in movie theater in San Jose on May 19, as a fire broke out in a salvage yard next door.

The San Jose Fire Department said that the fire, adjacent the West Wind Capitol Drive-In, involved multiple vehicles, and that it damaged power lines. It was soon fully contained and there were no injuries, they said.

Joseph Mosebar was watching The Hunt with his sister when the fire started. He said she first noticed a number of popping noises, before he saw a “huge cloud of smoke”. The screen then shut off, Mosebar said, and emergency lights went on. That’s when they headed for the exit, knowing there would be a long line to get out.

“Disappointing,” Mosebar told Storyful, “since this was the first time we had gone out to do something ‘fun and safe’ while sheltering in place.”

Mosebar said he and his sister were fine and that they’d “just rent the movie online”. Credit: Joseph Mosebar via Storyful