CHP: Agreement likely to protect North Fire drivers from excessive tow prices

RIALTO, Calif. -- A service agreement between the California Highway Patrol and towing companies should protect motorists who had to abandon their cars on the 15 Freeway during the North Fire, the CHP says.

CHP closed the 15 Freeway in the Cajon Pass 12 minutes after the first report of the North Fire on Friday, but many who had already driven past the closure point were trapped by the smoke and fire. About 20 cars were destroyed.

Some drivers had no choice but to leave their cars on the road and run for their lives. Many took their keys with them, which essentially led to some pricey towing bills.

One of those motorists, Mariela Munoz, says the company Gonzalez Tow from Hesperia quoted her $1,321 Friday night and then increased that figure to $1,621 the next day.

A manager at Gonzalez Tow told Eyewitness News that the company plans to reimburse the fees for all nine people they towed.

It turns out, the CHP had something to do with it.

"Once the CHP found out about these concerns, we actually reached out to all our tow companies that are on our rotation that we requested and we actually worked with them to mitigate the situation," said CHP Officer Steve Carapia. "We do have some control over the amount they charge. It's just that we can't ask them to do it for free. They did render services, but again, we're trying to conduct it so it's fair for everybody."

Carapia said that CHP has a tow-service agreement with all the companies that responded. Under that contract, CHP is able to set a cap on how much these tow companies can charge. It basically protects customers from price gouging.

CHP also said they had no experience with a situation like this one, so they had to learn as the events unfolded.