Halloween pumpkin horror unfolds on California freeway
Cleanup crews had to deal with more than old-fashioned smashed jack-o’-lanterns early Wednesday morning after a semi-truck carrying a load of pumpkins caught fire.
The blaze broke out on the southbound span of the 5 Freeway at Smoky Bear Road in Lebec shortly after 2 a.m.
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Video from the scene shows hundreds of burnt and bruised pumpkins littering the roadway as crews extinguish the fire.
Footage from the scene shows hundreds of burnt and bruised pumpkins littering the roadway as crews extinguish the fire. (OnSceneTV) Footage from the scene shows hundreds of burnt and bruised pumpkins littering the roadway as crews extinguish the fire. (OnSceneTV) Footage from the scene shows hundreds of burnt and bruised pumpkins littering the roadway as crews extinguish the fire. (OnSceneTV) Footage from the scene shows hundreds of burnt and bruised pumpkins littering the roadway as crews extinguish the fire. (OnSceneTV)
No injuries were reported, and authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.
The right lane of the southbound 5 Freeway remained closed as of 6:15 a.m. Wednesday.
These pumpkins are just a small portion of all the ones grown in California; according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, nearly 5,000 acres of pumpkins were harvested in 2022.
That pales in comparison to the leading state, Illinois, who harvested more than 16,000 acres of pumpkins in the same time period.
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