School Bus Experiences Mechanical Issue And Briefly Catches Fire
Long Barn, CA– A Sonora Elementary School bus transporting 27 students and three adult chaperones to Dodge Ridge for a field trip briefly caught fire Thursday morning after experiencing a mechanical issue, according to the CHP. The incident occurred around 8:45 a.m. on Highway 108 near Long Barn when flames were seen coming from the vehicle’s exhaust pipe. A passerby alerted the bus driver, who safely pulled over to the right shoulder east of Long Barn.
Emergency responders arrived as a precaution, but the flames extinguished once the bus came to a stop. All students, ranging in age from 10 to 15, were safely evacuated, and no injuries were reported. A replacement bus was dispatched, allowing the group to continue their trip.
The cause of the mechanical issue remains undetermined.
