A semi truck burst into flames while fueling up at a truck stop in California on Monday afternoon, damaging three gas pumps and leaving the big rig “melted.”
The incident occurred on July 16th at around 1:20 p.m. at the Travel Centers of America truck stop at 2300 Lenwood Road in Lenwood, California.
According to Victor Valley News, two tractor trailers were parked next to each other fueling up when one of them spontaneously combusted while at the pump. The fire then spread to the fuel pump, consuming two more pumps and part of the awning as well as completely destroying the semi truck.
“Crews were able to perform an aggressive stop to prevent the fire from advancing to the convenience store and maintenance building,” said Barstow City Spokesman Anthony Riley to Victor Valley News.
“There’s about three gas pumps destroyed, the truck is destroyed, there’s major damage to the awning, but luckily there were not fatalities or injuries,” Riley continued.
It took fire fighters about 45 minutes to quench the fire, during which time citizens reported seeing thick black smoke from miles away.
“Truck fueling on the backside of TA is down for an undetermined timeframe,” Riley added.
Investigators are still working to determine the exact reason for the fire.
