Semi truck catches fire twice in Death Valley

A semi truck caught fire twice while driving through Death Valley late last week. 

The incidents occurred on August 10th on California State Route 190 near Towne Pass in California. 

The National Park service reports that an off-duty park ranger was traveling behind a semi truck on Route 190 when she noticed flames underneath the truck. Because of poor cell service in the area, the ranger used a park radio to report the fire to rangers in a fire truck in Furnace Creek. That truck was dispatched to the scene and traveled 35 miles to respond to the fire. 

The trucker was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway and used his fire extinguisher to put out the fire before the fire truck arrived. The truck driver then continued on Route 190 with the ranger following behind to watch for any more flames. 

The semi truck’s brakes caught fire again near Emigrant Junction. The driver was able to pull over again, but his fire extinguisher had been used up in the previous blaze and was unable to put out the fire. Park service employees were able to extinguish the flames, but not before one of the truck’s tires was destroyed. 

Noone was hurt, and the semi truck drove away on only 17 wheels, reported UPI News, No further information has been released.