Trash Truck Catches Fire on Highway 38, Highway Closed for Hours

This article brought to you by Valor of the Lake Alarms

Article and photos by Malia Dietz

At approximately 9:44 a.m. on July 5th, a Burrtec trash truck caught fire on Highway 38. Reports came in that the back area of the truck was on fire and quickly became engulfed.

The male occupant was able to get out of the truck and was not injured. The fire spread into vegetation. A 5×5 spot was reported, and fire crews from Station 98 in Angelus Oaks, as well as a water tender from Station 99, Forest Falls, along with an engine from 283 Sugarloaf, and other supporting engines were able to get the fire out quickly.

At 9:44 a.m., a sig-alert went into effect, closing Highway 38 for hours. All traffic was diverted onto Jenks Lake Road East and West. A hazmat team was called in to clean up a 40-gallon diesel fuel spill that got into dirt and vegetation. The cause for the truck fire is unknown at this time.