Fire guts pickup truck
<p>A Sandpoint firefighter pries open a gap in a pickup truck’s engine compartment so water can flood into it. (Photo by KEITH KINNAIRD)</p>
SANDPOINT — No injuries were reported after a pickup truck burst into flames on U.S. Highway 2 on Friday afternoon.
The fire occurred after 3 p.m. on the eastbound shoulder of the highway, which serves as an entrance to a vacant used car sales lot near Dub’s Drive-In.
There was nobody around the Ford F-250 and Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon said it was not immediately clear if the rig’s registered owner or somebody else was behind the wheel at the time of the fire. Coon said it appeared the fire originated in the truck’s engine compartment.
Nearby residents reported hearing quick succession of explosions and seeing a plume of black smoke rising from the scene.
Sandpoint firefighters knocked down the fire and methodically swamped the vehicle with a fire hose to extinguish any remaining hot spots.
Those with information about the incident or the person who was driving are asked to call Bonner Dispatch at 265-5525 and request to speak with a Sandpoint patrol officer.