Woman, animals safe after horse trailer catches fire, explodes on I-15
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The following is a news release from Idaho State Police. Photo courtesy Ashley Lathen-Despain
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, at approximately 5:49 p.m., Idaho State Police investigated a vehicle fire, southbound Interstate 15, at milepost 75, north of Pocatello.
Teresa Johnson, 46, of Shelley, was traveling southbound on Interstate 15 in a Dodge pickup truck pulling a horse trailer, loaded with two horses. The trailer caught fire and Johnson was able to pull to the right shoulder of the road and disconnect the trailer from the truck. A passerby stopped and helped unload the horses before the trailer became fully engulfed.
A propane tank inside the trailer caught fire, exploded, and started a brush fire on the west side of the interstate. Fire crews from Pocatello Fire Department, Fort Hall Fire Department, and the Bureau of Land Management arrived on scene and extinguished the trailer fire and brush fire.
No persons or horses were injured in the fire, however, an ambulance from Pocatello arrived on scene to care for a firefighter who suffered from an apparent heatstroke.
Both southbound lanes were blocked for approximately 30 minutes; the left lane opened up and the right lane continued to be blocked for another 45 minutes.