Fire damages vehicles in Rivian lot; cause under investigation

NORMAL — Rivian Automotive is investigating the cause of a fire that damaged vehicles in a parking lot at its campus on the community's west side.

The company's manufacturing plant was unaffected, said Kelli Felker, corporate communications senior manager.

"We are investigating the cause of a fire that damaged a number of vehicles in a parking lot at our Normal plant late Saturday night," Felker said in a statement shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday. "The plant itself is unaffected. At this time, we are not aware of any injuries."

A video circulating on social media late Saturday showed concentrated, bright orange flames in the lot outside the plant.

The Normal Fire Department confirmed that it responded to a fire at the Rivian campus, but could not immediately provide more information.

Emergency vehicles were still at the scene as of 12:20 a.m.

Rivian employs more than 8,000 workers at its manufacturing operations in Normal, where all of the company's electric pickup trucks, SUVs and commercial delivery vans are produced.