SAN MARCOS, Texas – San Marcos was rocked by two explosions at a newly opened food truck park. Some of the truck owners are now evaluating what happens next after his truck was destroyed.
- Explosions happened November 14
- Destroyed 4 food trucks
- Caused by propane leak
“It's surreal, like you were supposed to be here the next day and cook,” said El Morenito owner Humberto Ortiz.
Spectrum News spoke with Ortiz back in October at the opening of the Allo Eatery and CoKitchen food truck park. At the time, Ortiz was excited to follow in the footsteps of his mother and brother, both of whom work in the restaurant industry.
Almost exactly a month later and only two weeks after quitting his fulltime job at Facebook to focus on the truck, he’s now surveying the damage.
Humberto Ortiz standing in front of his damaged food truck. (Stacy Rickard)
“It was starting to get going. You know the wheels were barely starting to start turning and so I was excited,” said Ortiz.
The City of San Marcos says a propane gas leak at Rondooley’s food truck came in contact with an unspecified ignition source causing the first explosion. Shortly after, a second explosion was caused by a spare propane tank overheating. At this time, no criminal activity is suspected.
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE | Officials: Propane Caused Explosions at San Marcos Food Truck Park
Ortiz says now it’s a waiting game. He and his fellow truck owners are out of the job while waiting for insurance companies to pay to replace their trucks.
“I'm not going to sit here and wait for them to cover all my expenses. I'm going to have to get out there and hustle and cover those expenses myself. Build that capital up again that I had saved for three years,” said Ortiz. “I have to make that up again, somehow make it up and get back into the business.”
No one was injured in the explosions, but fire officials say had anyone been in the area, it could have been fatal. So at the end of the day, Ortiz is just grateful no one was hurt or killed.
“There's a reason why you didn't go in that morning. There's a reason why everything happened at that time. There were no students, nobody walking by… God works in mysterious ways and take it as a blessing that you're still here,” said Ortiz.