A semitruck traveling northbound on Interstate 15 caught fire between Bernice and Basin on Friday morning, starting a grass fire adjacent to the interstate and delaying traffic as firefighters from a variety of agencies extinguished the truck and the small brush fire.
The driver was not injured.
According to a 10:55 a.m. Facebook post from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the truck and trailer were “fully engulfed,” and the agency encouraged motorists to “please avoid the area and expect delays.”
An interactive traffic conditions map maintained by the Montana Department of Transportation indicated an incident in the northbound lanes of I-15 about 2 miles west—or southbound on the interstate—from Basin, near milepost 154 between Basin and Bernice. It said that “fire activity” beginning at 11 a.m. was blocking northbound lanes.
Firefighting crews from local volunteer agencies, Butte, the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and the U.S. Forest Service extinguished the fire and were mopping up on Friday afternoon. The truck, which Jefferson City Volunteer Fire Department Chief Bud Siderits wrote in an email was carrying diapers, was heavily damaged by flames and sat on the shoulder of the interstate while crews doused it and the surrounding area with water to ensure the fire was fully extinguished. Traffic was able to pass intermittently in the left lane of two northbound lanes.
Information about what led to the fire was not immediately available.
