Semi-Truck ‘Fully Engulfed’ in Flames Causes Major Delays on California Highway
A semi-truck became “fully engulfed” in flames on the southbound side of Highway 101 in San Francisco causing major delays around 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
According to Mark Andrews, a spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol, Firefighters on the scene reported that they had trouble extinguishing the fire and had to remove “scrap metal” to do so. Mariano Elias, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Fire Department, said the semi-truck was loaded with metal.
The fire backed up traffic for miles. About an hour after someone first reported the fire, authorities had opened only the left lane on the southbound side of the highway. Workers finally fully reopened all of the other lanes and an off-ramp around 2 p.m.
The San Francisco Fire Department reported that the fire didn’t injure anyone. However, officials did not release the circumstances surrounding the fire.
Another similar semi-truck fire also shut down traffic in Florida this week
In a similar situation, a semi-truck fire temporarily closed all northbound lanes on Interstate 75 in Marion County, Florida, on Tuesday afternoon, resulting in severe traffic delays. At 12:15 p.m., the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) arrived at the scene close to mile marker 343.
A press release stated that when the smoke started coming from the semi-truck the driver stopped on the east shoulder of the emergency lane. Shortly after stopping, flames completely enveloped the semi-truck. Before the fire spread, the driver managed to safely get out of the truck and reported no injuries.
As Marion County Fire Rescue attempted to put out the blaze, it blocked the northbound lanes. Authorities reported severe traffic congestion in the region after the fire.
