A golf cart rigged with a roof-mounted device that shoots flames has been cruising through Corning, blasting loud music, and even the police department says it has no idea who's behind the wheel. The Corning Police Department is now asking residents for help identifying the driver after receiving multiple reports of the customized cart making its way through town.
In a public appeal posted Tuesday, the department did not mince words about its own confusion. “Well, Corning… we're just as stumped as you are!” the agency wrote, according to a Facebook post cited by a regional Facebook crime and accident group. Officers said the golf cart has been spotted around Corning equipped with a contraption that shoots flames from its roof while playing music loudly, and they're seeking the public's help identifying the person responsible, as reported by actionnewsnow.com.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Corning Police Department at (530) 824-7000, per the department's public appeal relayed by Action News Now assignment desk editor Will Anderson. Regional broadcaster KRCR News Channel 7 separately verified that police received reports of flames actively shooting from the roof-mounted device as the cart traveled through Corning streets, according to KRCR News Channel 7.
A Small Town With Big Fire Concerns
Corning is a rural city of about 8,244 residents in Tehama County, sitting along Interstate 5 roughly 19 miles south of Red Bluff, per the U.S. Census Bureau. That small-town footprint could work in investigators' favor, since a customized golf cart with a flame-shooting roof attachment is not the kind of vehicle that blends easily into local traffic.
The area also carries heightened fire sensitivity. Corning sits in a high-risk wildfire zone in rural Northern California, prompting CAL FIRE's Tehama-Glenn Unit and local volunteer firefighters to run public fire safety outreach in city parks, according to a Facebook post from Alameda County Fire's page referencing the regional effort. Late-summer dry conditions in the area create severe vegetation fire risks, making an open flame device on a public street more than just a curiosity.
What The Law Says About Golf Carts And Flames
Under California Vehicle Code Section 345, a golf cart is legally defined as a vehicle weighing 1,300 pounds or less with a top speed of 15 mph, built to carry golf equipment and no more than two people, per the California DMV. Separately, Vehicle Code Section 21115 limits standard, unregistered golf carts to roadways with speed limits of 25 mph or lower within one mile of a golf course, meaning a cart cruising general Corning streets could already be running afoul of state law, according to FindLaw.
The flame-shooting attachment raises a more serious legal question. Possessing or operating an illegal flame-throwing device or unauthorized destructive flame apparatus in California can trigger felony charges under Penal Code Section 18710, according to the Shouse California Law Group. Police have not announced formal charges, and it remains unclear whether the device is liquid- or gas-powered, whether the cart is a standard model or a street-legal low-speed vehicle, or whether any property has been damaged.
The Corning Police Department is led by Chief Jeremiah Fears, who has headed the department since November 2015. Odd low-speed vehicle encounters aren't unheard of in the region; in neighboring Butte County back in May 2023, police stopped a man who was driving an electric Walmart shopping cart along a public road. For now, Corning police are relying on tips from residents to track down the flame-shooting cart and the person behind the wheel.
