Charter bus carrying Central Unified grad night students catches fire on Highway 99

A Classic Charter bus carrying about 54 students back from a graduation trip to Magic Mountain caught fire on Highway 99 on Friday morning, the California Highway Patrol reported.

CHP officer William Butler said the left rear tires and rims melted when they caught fire around 8:40 a.m. Three fire extinguishers were used to put out the flames. Butler described the incident as "more than fire extinguishers could handle, but it wasn't substantial."

The bus driver saw smoke coming out from the back of the bus and then saw flames as he pulled over between Belmont and Olive avenues on Highway 99. A path of rubber marks were visible on the highway. Butler said smoke filled the inside of the bus.

Sonja Dosti, spokeswoman for Central Unified, said about 360 seniors had gone on the trip and there were several buses. Officer Butler said the students on the bus that caught fire were from the district's Central East campus, but Dosti said there may have been students from other campuses in the same bus.

Dosti said the district is grateful there were no injuries in the incident. The teachers evacuated the students and a school bus came and picked up the group. A tow truck was called to tow the bus.

This story was originally published June 1, 2018 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Charter bus carrying Central Unified grad night students catches fire on Highway 99."