By Melissa Pinion-Whitt, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
Copyright 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
SAN BERNADINO COUNTY, Calif. — Another blast of dry Santa Ana winds met chilly temperatures Monday, bringing together the unusual combination of fire dangers and icy roads.
A red-flag warning, signaling high winds, low humidity and fire hazards, was expected to expire at 6 p.m. today. Forecasters said gusts from 45 to 75 mph blew through the Cajon Pass.
The fire danger persisted even though freezing temperatures lingered in the Inland Empire. Forecasters say this is because the area has seen little rain so far this season, leaving vegetation dry.
“It happens every now and then, about every five or 10 years,” said National Weather Service forecaster Stan Wasowski.
Winds and rough terrain created a tough battle for firefighters who came to extinguish a box truck that burst into flames after sliding down a freeway embankment.
The California Highway Patrol shut down two lanes of eastbound Interstate 10 near Ford Street in Redlands after the 7:56 a.m. crash. The closure lasted about 2 1/2 hours, officers said.
Despite the crash and fire, the driver walked away uninjured.
Rudy Arbizu, 25, of Anaheim was driving the 16-foot truck east on I-10 when he saw what he thought was a fire in the cargo portion of his truck, said CHP Officer Alan Lightfeldt. Arbizu, who restripes parking lots, was hauling 50 gallons of latex paint, two propane cylinders, a 2-gallon container of gasoline and various equipment.
A motorist driving alongside Arbizu tried to get him to pull over because of the fire, he told officers. But Arbizu veered too far and struck a guardrail.
“He drove into the end of the guardrail, and then (the truck) flipped on its side, slid down an embankment and landed against a bunch of trees, where it burst into flames,” said Redlands fire Battalion Chief Greg Hostetler.
Fifteen firefighters from Highland and Redlands battled the blaze for about 30 minutes. They kept their distance at first because of the propane and then moved in to saw open the back of the truck, Hostetler said.
The crash backed up traffic several miles to Mountain View Avenue, officers said.
Icy roads left some motorists slipping on roadways in Colton and Ontario early Monday.
A six-car pileup occurred at 6:23 a.m. at the corner of Wildrose Avenue and Valley Boulevard in Colton near the border with Rialto, said Tom DeBellis, spokesman with the Colton Fire Department.
City workers came to the scene to remove ice from the road. The ice formed when a pipe on the roof of a nearby storage facility broke, sending water streaming into the gutters and across the road.
After several cars splashed across the stream, a thin sheet of ice began to form, sending unsuspecting motorists sliding. There were no reported injuries.
CHP officers shut down the Mountain Avenue on-ramp to westbound Highway 60 after sprinklers caused ice to form on the road. Dispatchers received reports of drivers sliding on the lanes at 3:13 a.m.
In Lake Arrowhead, where reports of black ice are frequent, firefighters said they didn’t hear about any crashes.
“Here in the mountains, they take precautions and drive a lot slower,” said county fire Engineer Craig Williams.
The popular call in the mountains was for broken water pipes, he said.
On Sunday alone, Lake Arrowhead firefighters came to a dozen homes for flooding related to burst pipes, Williams said.