A tractor-trailer with a load of phosporic acid caught fire in Thousand Palms today.
Richard Masoner/Flickr
The fire on eastbound Interstate 10 started about 6:25 a.m. east of Cook Street.
The driver, who wasn’t hurt, tried to put out the blaze with the truck’s fire extinguisher, California Highway Patrol Officer Joe Zagorski said.
“The entire cab of the truck was engulfed in fire when fire department personnel arrived,” he said.
The trailer was carrying 5,000 gallons of phosphoric acid, which is used in antiseptics, medicated powders, skin lotions and enamels.
The fire didn’t reach the acid, which did not leak, according to Zagorski and the Riverside County Fire Department.
The blaze was contained at 6:55 a.m.
Part of eastbound I-10 was closed until 8:15 a.m., Zagorski said.
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