By the edhat staff
A Ford 150 Hybrid caught fire on Highway 101 northbound near the Patterson offramp on Thursday evening.
At 6:10 p.m., Santa Barbara County Firefighters responded to the offramp between Santa Barbara and Goleta with two fire engines and a Batallion Chief.
Crews were able to knock down the fire and no injuries were reported.
The Patterson offramp was closed for a period of time but has since reopened.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Vehicle Fire Pickup Truck: 101 NB at Patterson off-ramp, SB. SBC Fire w/ Two Engines and Battalion Chief. No injuries reported. Fire knocked down, cause under investigation. Off Ramp closed, check w/CHP for reopening. C/T 6:10pm. pic.twitter.com/MqVSGvagOZ
— Scott Safechuck (@SBCFireInfo) December 16, 2022
My brother was thinking about buying one of these hybrid-electric trucks even though I had warned him about the complete dangers of such a purchase. I sent him a link to this article and he’s now in the market for a simple (and safer) gas-burning truck. He also said that he now believes me! (Finally, my bro believes me!!! LOL!!!)
Most people would expect that there would be issues with 100 year-old-plus technology, such as vehicles powered by petroleum. However, once or twice a week, we have LOCAL stories posted about brand-new, updated, latest technology electric/hybrid timebombs ending up in a flaming heap along the 101/154/150/192/etc. I am all for improvements that catch fire such as eco-friendly fire logs, but when it comes to my cars….I just want one that isn’t likely to catch fire and having the fire department come to put it out. BTW, I saw the aftermath of this avoidable melt down yesterday….w-h-a-t a mess!!!
The carbon footprint of this hybrid is now equal to a 1972 Ford Hiboy 4×4 pickup with a 302 cu in gas engine, running for 50 years~