PHOTO: A semitractor-trailer caught fire on northbound Interstate 15 north of Cedar City late Saturday night.
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Bambi Baie said the incident was first reported at 11:17 p.m., near Exit 62, after the semi’s trailer had blown a tire.
“The tire went flat and the driver couldn’t see it because it was underneath,” Baie told Cedar City News on Sunday. “Somebody told him that he was sparking, and then his tire caught on fire.”
After the driver had pulled over to the side of the roadway, he tried using a fire extinguisher on the flames, Baie said.
“It wouldn’t extinguish the fire. It was just too much and then it caught the trailer on fire,” she said. “He tried getting the tractor unhooked, but that didn’t work, and then the tractor went up in flames, too.” The trailer was filled with a load of pineapples and melons, Baie said.