Edhat Staff
Update by the edhat staff
Traffic was backed up through Ventura Thursday morning due to a semi-truck fire on Highway 101 northbound near Summerland.
Around 5:00 a.m. a large truck carrying produce was reportedly on fire near Evans Avenue and north of Padaro, which forced the closure of all northbound lanes.
Carpinteria-Summerland Firefighters arrived to a fully involved big rig in the number two-lane. The driver reported the contents as green beans, negating the concern of a hazardous materials incident.
The fire snarled northbound commuter traffic, as Highway 101 northbound and Via Real–the alternative northbound surface street were shut down.
Firefighters from Montecito Fire and Santa Barbara City Fire assisted with crews and equipment, and a Ca Trans front loader was brought in to remove the big rig siding to allow fire crews better access to the contents.
Firefighters extinguished and overhauled the blaze using compressed air foam. Once overhauled, the loader pushed the big rig remains onto the shoulder, where Smitty’s Tow units continued to prepare the remains for removal.
CHP opened one lane of Highway 101 northbound by 8:30 a.m. As of 11:00 a.m., only one lane remained open.
Reported by an edhat readers
- Traffic backup on 101 north, what’s up?
- Some type of major crash near summerland, around 5am
