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Garbage truck catches on fire on Fresno highway, causing traffic backup for miles

A garbage truck caught on fire on a Fresno highway on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022.
A garbage truck caught on fire on a Fresno highway on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. tmiller@fresnobee.com

A garbage truck caught on fire on a Fresno highway Wednesday afternoon, causing traffic to be backed up.

The fire happened just after 1:30 p.m. at Highway 41, near the McKinley Avenue onramp to the southbound side of the highway.

The traffic was backed up, stretching from McKinley to Shaw. All lanes have since reopened.

Fresno Fire spokesman Jonathan Lopez said the garbage truck belonged to Republic Service and the fire was started in the engine compartment behind the cab.

Fire crews put out the fire and followed the tow truck to the yard and extinguished any smoldering fire once the truck dump its load.

The cause of the fire was mechanical failure, Lopez said.

No injuries were reported.

Traffic is backed up on Highway 41, near Shaw in Fresno on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022.
Traffic is backed up on Highway 41, near Shaw in Fresno on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. CALTRANS

This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 2:32 PM.

Anthony Galaviz
The Fresno Bee
Anthony Galaviz writes about sports for The Fresno Bee. He covers the Las Vegas Raiders, high schools, boxing, MMA and junior colleges. He’s been with The Bee since 1997 and attended Fresno City College before graduating from Fresno State with a major in journalism and a minor in criminology. Support my work with a digital subscription
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