Garbage Truck engulfed in flames on I-15 near St. George BLVD

There are few things in life that can smell as bad as a dump. One of those things is a burning garbage truck.

That’s exactly what happened July 5 on I-15 by the entrance to St. George Boulevard. Reports of the fire came in at about 3:30 p.m. with the cause of the fire coming from residuals of fireworks from Independence Day that the truck picked up during its route.

The driver reportedly had to drop the load it was carrying due to the increasing volume of flames. This still left the truck engulfed, but luckily the driver managed to get out of the way of traffic.

Speaking of traffic, the left lane heading toward Cedar City had to be shut down around the fire, but traffic opened back up after about an hour once the flames were extinguished.

So how could something like this happen?

Well Southern Utah recently celebrated Independence Day alongside the rest of the United States, which means there were plenty of fireworks, including displays from the public rivaling the city’s firework show in many ways.

With that many fireworks, there’s going to be a couple of residents who don’t extinguish or “drown” their residuals leftover from a night of celebration.

It’s probably going to happen again since fireworks will be legal during Pioneer Day from July 22 to July 25.

Just remember to “drown” your fireworks and get rid of even the tiniest of embers to decrease the risk of any kind of fire breaking out in the first place.

Stay safe out there.