Woodside Fire Protection District Chief Rob Lindner said a fire Wednesday was likely caused by a bus tire blowout, which led to a tire rim or axle hitting the road and creating sparks.
No one was seriously injured after a commuter bus for Apple became engulfed in flames Wednesday morning on Interstate 280 near Portola Valley, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The bus driver pulled over onto the Alpine Road off-ramp from southbound Interstate 280 immediately after noticing the flames at about 10:30 a.m.
He was able to leave the bus and no other occupants were on board.
Woodside Fire Protection District Chief Rob Lindner said the fire was likely caused by a tire blowout, which led to a tire rim or axle hitting the road and creating sparks.
The flames then jumped to dry vegetation on the side of southbound Interstate 280 about a quarter-mile before the driver noticed the flames and pulled over.
Firefighters from Woodside, Menlo Park, Redwood City and Palo Alto responded to the scene, in addition to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and the CHP.
The two fires were under control in about 30 minutes. Cal Fire officials said shortly after noon that forward progress of the fire had been stopped, and shared photos on social media of the burned skeleton of the bus.
The bus is a total loss and was removed from the scene by a tow truck. Lindner said the bus driver sustained minor hand injuries but refused treatment at the scene.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Planning your dream wedding? Discover everything you need at the Wedding Fair in the Park – … Read moreWedding Fair in the Park
“Side-splittingly funny and brilliantly chaotic” Read moreThe Play That Goes Wrong
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.