BRUNSWICK - Glynn County firefighters scrambled Monday afternoon to contain a fire that burned train cars loaded with luxury automobiles and a portion of the railroad trestle to the Georgia Ports Authority Colonel's Island shipping terminal.

It was the second time in nearly six years, fire has engulfed the trestle over the marsh and Fancy Bluff Creek in southern Glynn County. This time, the fire was on the opposite end and burned far less of the trestle.

The cause of the 2:30 p.m. fire wasn't immediately known and there were no known injuries, said Candice Temple, county spokeswoman.

By 4 p.m., about 40 Glynn County firefighters had contained the fire to two automobile transport cars loaded with new Mercedes-Benz vehicles on top of the trestle. They had to haul in water and connect a series of hoses from pumper trucks to douse the flames.

"It's in the middle of marsh, which makes it very difficult to get to," Temple said.

To make matters worse, the fire burned so intensely it warped the steel tracks beneath the train cars, preventing firefighters and railroad officials from unhooking and moving the other rail cars, she said.

A column of thick black smoke was visible in the sky for miles. The wind, however, was blowing the smoke away from U.S. 17, the highway that crosses Colonel's Island between Brunswick and Interstate 95. Except for gawkers, traffic was moving smoothly, police said.

Camden County firefighters brought equipment capable of filling up the firefighters' portable air tanks should it be needed.

The train was transporting the vehicles from the Mercedes-Benz manufacturing facility in Vance, Ala., to Colonel's Island for export, ports authority spokesman Robert Morris said.

Morris said the fire damage will impact rail service to Brunswick, although the duration of the interruption is uncertain at this point.

A portion of the trestle burned on May 31, 2003, hampering shipping at the island terminal for several weeks. About 730 feet of the 1,735-foot trestle was so badly damaged that it had to be replaced. That fire burned the western end of the trestle between Fancy Bluff Creek and the high ground. Monday's fire burned on the Colonel's Island end of the trestle.

In 2003, the trestle caught fire when high winds revived a smoldering woods fire on Fancy Bluff and blew it along the railroad right of way, where the highly flammable creosote crossties and timbers caught fire and burned.

The shipping terminal handles a variety of cargo, but specializes in motor vehicles, heavy equipment and bulk grain.

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