Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Van full of fireworks catches fire near Primm, closes freeway

Van fire

Jay Rutherford via AP

Smoke rises from a burning van packed with fireworks after it exploded on Interstate 15 near Ivanpah, Calif., close to the Nevada state line Thursday, July 2, 2015.

Updated Thursday, July 2, 2015 | 6:36 p.m.

Click to enlarge photo

A photo from a traffic camera shows cars and trucks backed up on Interstate 15 near Primm after a truck packed full of fireworks caught fire Thursday, July 2, 2015.

A box van packed with fireworks caught fire on Interstate 15 near Primm today, setting off the fireworks and temporarily shutting down the freeway, according to California Highway Patrol.

The fire was reported about 1:20 p.m. on southbound I-15 near Yates Well Road, briefly closing southbound lanes for about an hour and backing up traffic several miles into Nevada, CHP Officer Ryan Camara said. No one was injured.

San Bernardino County firefighters found the van entirely engulfed in flames and the popping sound of fireworks going off, said spokeswoman Tracey Martinez.

Jay Rutherford was driving to Los Angeles on tour with his Nashville, Tenn.-based band Los Colognes when the five-member group saw billowing smoke and stalled traffic ahead.

They drove by at 15 mph, watching sparks and "psychedelic" explosions coming from the van parked on the side of the freeway. Their guess was the sparks were the result of fireworks or an ice cream truck that caught fire.

"We thought it was a truck filled with fireworks that got too hot because of the way sparks were spiraling out of it," Rutherford said. "There were mini sparks and explosions going on. It appeared alive and dynamic unlike other road fires I've seen."

The van driver fled before authorities arrived and hasn't been found.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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