Fires break out on Highway 99 in central Fresno. Were they the work of an arson?
UPDATE, 10:20 a.m.: The Fresno Fire Department has asked for the Belmont Avenue on-ramp to southbound Highway 99 be closed temporarily while crews work on a series of fires along the embankment of the freeway.
Fresno Fire Department public information officer Jonathan Lopez said one additional fire engine has been assigned to the incident, making a total of six crews engaged in the firefighting effort.
“Caltrans is trying to activate their sprinklers to help out out any hot spots,” Lopez added.
As many as six fires were reported along the southbound edge of the freeway from Belmont Avenue to the Highway 180 interchange.
Traffic was continuing to move on the freeway, but was slowed and backed up by the firefighting work.
ORIGINAL STORY: Crews from the Fresno Fire Department are fighting an outbreak of fires along Highway 99 between Belmont Avenue and Highway 180 north of downtown Fresno Wednesday morning.
On Twitter, fire officials said they had reports of possible arson in connection with the fires, which were initially reported by the California Highway Patrol at about 9:20 a.m.
Reports from the CHP indicated that the first incident was spotted on the embankment along southbound Highway 99 south of Belmont Avenue. At least two additional fires were reported within minutes of the first fire.
By about 9:30 a.m., five Fresno Fire Department crews were engaged in fighting the flames and were requesting traffic control from the Highway Patrol. Caltrans was being asked to send a sign truck to the scene to let approaching motorists know about traffic backing up on the freeway.
Fresno Bee reporter Joshua Tehee contribute to this report.
This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 10:06 AM.
