Updated: Monday, Feb. 3 at 6:50pm
Just after 7am today, the California Highway Patrol posted on Twitter about a traffic operation on Highway 17, north of Alma Bridge Road.
“A truck hauling trash caught fire,” a spokesperson for the agency’s San Jose station wrote. “Currently, there is no estimation for opening the #2 lane, however the #1 lane is open.”
Photos published with the post showed Santa Clara County Fire Department and Cal Fire SCU officials also responding to the incident.
Capt. Jon Bui, a SCCFD spokesperson, said the initial call came in at 6:45am.
“The driver noticed smoke coming out of the back,” he said, adding the vehicle in question was a box truck, not a municipal vehicle. “It was definitely burning for sure.”
“He basically dumped his load onto the roadway.”
Bui said the mess appeared to primarily be comprised of plastics, cardboard and other recyclable items.
“This is not a 30 minute job,” he said. “We’re looking at at least 50 feet of recycling material.”
The cause of the fire was still under investigation, Monday evening.
On social media, area residents traded stories about hours-long commutes.
This doesn’t surprise Bui.
“They had to dig through an extensive pile of garbage,” Bui said of the task faced by responders. “They have to get a special truck…to remove all the debris.”
Also on Monday, Santa Clara County Parks said it was conducting pile burns, starting at 10 am at Almaden Quicksilver County Park, in partnership with Cal Fire and SCCFD.
“Pile burns are an effective vegetation management tool,” a County Parks spokesperson wrote, just as the first one was set to be lit. “This pile burn project was planned as part of broader strategic efforts to protect the local community and nearby natural resources.”
Authorities are requesting that the public do not call 911 if they see smoke coming from this location.
