Haz-mat crews assisting in cleanup after truck fire on I-15
May 16, 2021, 8:52 PM | Updated: 8:53 pm
(Photo: AP Stock)
(Photo: AP Stock)
FILLMORE, Utah — A semi-truck traveling north on I-15 early Sunday morning caught fire at milepost 142, which is approximately 4 miles south of Kanosh, Utah, in Millard County.
The truck was traveling through a construction area, which had been narrowed to two lanes, when the fire began. Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) Corporal Andrew Battenfield told KSL that the shoulder of the road was non-existent. Because the truck was so close to the dry vegetation on the side of the road, a fire spread quickly.
It was also quickly doused, Battenfield said. But it took officials some time to identify the material that had spilled from the truck’s cargo because of the fire.
“It was ultimately identified as silicone grease,” Battenfield said, “it was not a hazard to motorists but it was an issue for the department (which was) essentially putting out a large grease fire.”
Motorists traveling on northbound I-15 toward Fillmore were delayed for much of the day on Sunday and into the evening as well. Cpl. Battenfield said that determining the contents of the barrels and then finding the appropriate company to assist with clean-up took much of the day on Sunday.
And during that time the stretch of northbound I-15 at milepost 142 south of Kanosh, was delayed. Some motorists said they experienced ten miles of delay.
As of Sunday evening, the reason that the semi-truck caught fire in the first place was unknown. Battenfield speculated that it may have been a blown inner tire that the driver didn’t realize had blown.
This is a video sent to us by a KSL Newsradio listener:
