At about 12:05am Wednesday morning, Turlock Fire and California Highway Patrol responded to a vehicle fire southbound State Route 99 just north of W. Monte Vista Avenue.
It took a while for units to arrive on scene due to callers giving inaccurate locations, however, units eventually arrived to find a 53-foot Amazon trailer pulled off to the shoulder. The trailer had a brake fire which had extended into the trailer itself.
Luckily, the truck driver had detached the tractor and driven it away from the trailer before the fire was able to extend to it as well.
Firefighters got the fire under control within about 15 minutes, however, remained on scene for an extended period of time assisting with off-loading its contents.
The Turlock Rural Fire Protection District responded and assisted with a water tender, while Caltrans responded and assisted with shutting down the #3 lane.
Once the freeway was cleared up and the trailer was towed away, the #3 lane was reopened.
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information that could assist in it is encouraged to call the Stanislaus Regional Fire Investigation Unit at 209-525-5537.
