Horses killed in I-5 trailer fire after tire blowout sparks blaze

By VICTOR A. PATTON
MERCED SUN-STAR

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SANTA NELLA -- Six horses burned to death Sunday after their trailer caught fire on Interstate 5, according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection investigators.

Investigators also believe the fire ignited several small grass fires along Highway 152 and I-5.

Firefighters from Cal Fire's Los Banos station and California Highway Patrol officers arrived at a Petro gas station at Highway 33 and Gonzaga Road at 5:03 a.m. to find the trailer fully engulfed in flames, according to Cal Fire Capt. Baraka Carter.

The trailer was attached to a Ford F-450 truck, which was not damaged by the fire. Carter said the horses were dead when firefighters arrived. The blaze was contained within seven minutes.

The fire started after one of the trailer's wheels blew out on the interstate near Canyon Road, Carter said. The truck's driver initially was unaware of the blowout -- until other drivers notified him that a wheel on his trailer was smoking.

The driver, an Oregon man in his early 50s, drove six to seven more miles until he eventually stopped at the gas station.

Along the way, Carter said, debris from the burning trailer started about 13 grass fires along Highway 152 and Interstate 5, the largest of which was about a half-acre.

Firefighters were able to control all of the grass fires within an hour, Carter said.