A mechanical issue is believed to have set a dump truck ablaze Thursday morning on a rural road south of Ridgefield.
Clark County Fire & Rescue firefighters were dispatched to the 4500 block of Northwest 199th Street about 9:47 a.m.
A single fire engine from CCFR and another from Fire District 6 headed down the street toward the reported address and spotted the truck engulfed in flames, said CCFR spokesman Tim Dawdy.
The driver had dumped a load of gravel nearby and was headed east on 199th to his next job when the truck stopped running, Dawdy said. He got out of the truck, opened its hood and discovered the engine was on fire.
Grabbing a fire extinguisher from inside the truck’s cab, the driver tried to put out the fire himself but was unsuccessful.
The extinguisher on hand “doesn’t provide much of an edge against a fast-growing fire,” Dawdy said. The blaze spread to the rest of the truck, and the man called 911.