In regards to Jon's comments, yes we did smell fuel once we got back down to the main road and were all airing up. We believed it at the time to be fumes from 5 jeeps running in close proximity as we were all airing up and running heaters. We did look around our Jeep to make sure it wasn't leaking any fuel. We only found what we thought was to be and AC condensate drip or something of the sort.
I am not a mechanic by trade or any sort of expert, but I honestly don't believe it was a fuel line leak for the following reasons.
1. We fueled up that morning in BB and ran trails from 11am till 8pm. In that time we went from a full tank to approx 5/8ths tanks. Traveling home we went from approx 5/8ths to 1/4 tank of fuel which for a 100mile trip partially downhill is about correct.
2. The fire captain found a line of liquid coming through the intersection that started at our position waiting in the left turn lane. To me it indicates a problem that happened as we started moving.
3. If I had any belief myself (again, not to say that I am an expert and completely diagnosed the issue) at all that there truly was any chance of a fuel leak, I would not have driven home 100 miles down a mountain in the dark.
At no point have I blamed this on Jeeping Modifications. Within the past two months, I had had both my shop that I take my commercial fleet vehicles to and EVO check out our JK and both gave it a clean bill of health.
In regards to the Skid Plate Fire Issues, we no longer had the stock JK skid plate but rather the Rock Hard System. Also at no point through the trip did we drive through any brush or trees or any such terrain. We were primarily on dirt and rocks.
Thank you all again for the continued support and best wishes and we were glad to have met Jon and Adrian and their group on the trail and that we were able to help. I do want to emphasize the point here though that this fire happened so fast. Much faster than I could have ever imagined. We did carry a 2.5lb ABC extinguisher attached to our C pillar, but honestly that would have done nothing.
I have seen a few fires in my line of work and from my non-expert opinion, short of having a 20lb ABC extinguisher in my lap with the pin pulled, there would have been no way for us to stop this. So while I am glad our mishap has prompted many of you to rethink your safety gear, don't underestimate these things and I would hardly waste my time with anything less than a 5lb ABC.
On another note, in doing some research since, you should definitely check out a product called ColdFire. Looks neat and like it might have some applications for Jeepers.