At 7:54 am, a 911 call indicated that a vehicle was burning in a turnout on south bound Highway 18, below Upper Waterman. As units were being dispatched, a second call indicated that there was also a brush fire on Highway 18, a quarter mile from the car fire. Not sure if it was a duplicate call, additional crews were dispatched.
As it turns out, there were in fact two fires. The vehicle fire was down bound Highway 18 in a turnout at mile marker 11.9. Bystanders said that passing motorists stopped and attempted to extinguish the burning car with fire extinguishers, but to no avail. The car fire continued burning until fire crews arrived. There were no injuries in the car fire and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The brush fire was higher on 18, also affecting the down bound lanes. At mile marker 12 is where the blaze started. Being that it was just a small spot fire, and as close as it was to the car fire, it is not yet known if the two incidents are related. One source indicates the burning vehicle may have dropped burning debris as it passed before the driver realized the car was burning. A sheriff arson investigator was dispatched to the scene after the crews on scene were able to extinguish it..
The number two down bound lane was closed for a short time as the brush fire was being extinguished. As of 10:00 am, the lane was reopened and normal traffic was able to resume.
Thank you to Phil the man who got me out of car and to all the people who stopped to help and the fire and police and God of course. I am beyond grateful.
We had a situation here in MN (Eden Prairie) a few months ago where a woman picked up her car from tires or breaks repaired/replaced/aligned. She hadn’t gotten far before her car either caught fire or exploded. She escaped the car but was herself, on fire. She did no make it. I don’t know if they’ve come out with a reason for the sudden fire or explosion. I’m glad the owner of this car in the report was not hurt, but the items she lost will never be retrieved. Very sad.