Photo from the scene provided by ODOT
BANKS – An Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) snowplow caught fire on Highway 6 just outside of Banks on Monday evening, prompting a short highway closure while crews knocked the fire down.
According to ODOT spokesperson Lou Torres, no one was hurt in the fire, which started under the vehicle’s dash.
According to Banks Fire District 13 spokesperson Mitch Ward, the district was dispatched to the fire, near mile post 48 and quickly got the flames under control.
Ward said that the driver attempted to extinguish the flames with a fire extinguisher, but it got out of control.
As for the vehicle, a Volvo, it doesn’t look good. Ward said the cab was “pretty much destroyed,” and ODOT was pessimistic about the de-icer’s future servicing Oregon’s roadways.
“I suspect we will need to retire the truck,” said Torres.
The interior of the truck. Photo: ODOT
This article has been updated with the make of the vehicle and new photographs.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.