Car catches fire on Highway 101 on Cuesta Grade, causing traffic jam
A car caught fire Thursday morning on Highway 101 on the Cuesta Grade, leaking fuel into a nearby creek and causing a lengthy traffic jam, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP received reports at 7:09 a.m. Thursday that a Dodge Journey caught fire on southbound Highway 101 just south of Railroad Bridge, CHP Officer Angela Molinar said.
The blaze sparked a small vegetation fire nearby that Cal Fire firefighters had extinguished by 7:30 a.m.
No one was injured in either fire, Molinar said.
The vehicle also leaked 10 gallons of fuel into a nearby creek, she said.
Traffic slowed to a crawl from the Cuesta Grade to Santa Barbara Road in San Luis Obispo while emergency responders addressed the incident.
All lanes of Highway 101 were open by 9:30 a.m., but Molinar warned that slow traffic could last through the morning.
“It’ll be awhile,” she said.
The CHP and Cal Fire responded to the fire, Molinar said, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the San Luis Obispo County Environmental Health Services Department will respond to the fuel leak.
This story was originally published August 22, 2024 at 9:40 AM.
