Into the Woods: Recovering a Burned Hummer EV

By George L. Nitti When a brand-new GMC Hummer EV burned to the ground in a remote stretch of the Sam Houston National Forest, Charlie Miller and his crew were ready to tackle yet another challenging recovery.

Miller’s Towing and Recovery, based in Conroe, Texas, received the dispatch from a neighboring county outside its normal non-consent territory. A stolen 2025 Hummer EV — weighing nearly 9,000 pounds — had been destroyed by fire deep in the woods.

“It was something none of their local people had the ability to take care of,” Miller said. “Local police knew we had a little more equipment than the average company.”

After receiving photos and a pin drop, Miller mobilized immediately.

“I told them, ‘Absolutely — we can handle it. Just send me what you’ve got.’”

Nearly an hour away, the recovery would require far more than a standard wrecker and winch line.

By the time the crew arrived, the fire department had extinguished the blaze, but the electric vehicle’s massive battery pack was still radiating heat.

“You could touch the side of the roll-off box later and still feel the heat coming through,” Miller said. “That’s the thing with these electric vehicles. It could sit for a month and catch fire again. You just don’t know.”

Dragging the burned Hummer down the dirt trail risked damaging the battery further and potentially reigniting it. So Miller devised another plan.

A custom off-road wrecker equipped with a refurbished Century hydraulic boom lifted one end of the vehicle while a Kubota skid steer raised the other.

“This thing weighed about 9,000 pounds before it burned,” Miller explained. “It was too much for just the skid steer. So we picked it up from both ends and carried it out.”

Once at the roadway, the crew scraped up ash and contaminated soil before suspending the truck and sliding a roll-off container underneath it.

“I figured a regular roll-off box was better than leaving it on the ground or putting it on the back of a flatbed,” Miller said. “If it reignites, it’s isolated. The fire department can pull right up and deal with it.”

Back at the yard, the container was positioned in an open area with clearance on all sides. Miller personally notified the local fire department.

“I went and talked to one of the deputy chiefs and said, ‘I want you guys to know this is here,’” he said. “If you get a call about smoke, you’ll know exactly what it is and where it’s sitting.”

For Miller, the recovery reflects the philosophy that has shaped his company.

“When other people look at a situation and say, ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with that,’ we take pride in figuring it out,” he said. “There’s always a plan. You just have to slow down and think it through.”

The Hummer was a total loss. But the recovery was completed without reignition, without additional emergency response, and without further environmental damage.

“With a little planning, a little training and a little common sense, you can handle just about anything,” Miller said. “And next time one of these comes in, the guys already know — boom, boom, boom — what equipment we need.”