Tractor-Trailer Catches Fire Outside Laramie [Photos]
No injuries are reported after a tractor-trailer caught fire 22 miles outside of Laramie near mile post 298, shortly after 2 pm today.
Wyoming Highway Patrol Lt. Michael Simmons said the driver survived unharmed.
“The fire burned the tractor to the ground,” Simmons said. “The fire department did arrive and was able to extinguish the flames.”
Simmons said the Laramie Fire Department was able to salvage the load, which was avocados.
Jessie Powell, Rawlins chamber director, was driving on I-80 and witnessed the fire.
“I just came up over that little hill there 20 miles outside of Laramie and suddenly there was lots of smoke. It was black, black smoke,” Powell said. “The cabin of the truck was engulfed in smoke and flames.”
Powell said she saw the driver standing away from the truck on the side of the road on his cell phone. She said she pulled over to snap a quick picture.
Simmons said the westbound lane of I-80 is closed while road cleanup is underway.
Simmons said the cause of the fire is unknown.